Guardian's Wings
by notgonnasay09
Summary: Something went horribly wrong during a spar at the Hyūga compound, and it awakened something unexpected in Hinata. One accident will forever change the lives of everyone that knows the shy young woman.
1. Chapter 1: Lost, Everything

Guardian's Wings

Chapter 1: Lost, Everything

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I plan to at anytime in the future.**_

The clouds were slightly overcast flying overhead of the Hidden Leaf Village, essentially leading to a perfect day for cloud watching. People were going about their normal routines; shopping, working, and the like. Shinobi were walking to and fro, generally enjoying the rather generic nature of the day. Even the ANBU seemed to be in a slightly more relaxed state, despite keeping an eye open for possible threats to the village. For the ninja, missions were rather slow in coming, mainly due to having people who would normally be requesting missions wanting to take things slow with the newly instated Godaime Hokage, the Slug Princess of Konoha and member of the _Densetsu no Sannin_, Tsunade Senju. It wasn't so much that foreign dignitaries and daimyo were untrusting of the newly instated Hokage, but it was a general courtesy to try and not overwhelm a new Kage with missions unless they were incredibly important, such as threats of a coup de grâce against a leader or the capture of a high-ranking criminal.

Inside the Hyūga compound, however, was a slightly different manner. Today was the day of another spar for one Hinata Hyūga. For you see, ever since she lost the opportunity for promotion during the Chūnin Exams approximately one and a half months previously, the Hyūga were becoming more and more unsatisfied with Hinata's performance as heir. They were disappointed that Hinata was not living up to her title as heiress to the clan, to the point where there were talks of replacing her with Hanabi, her younger sister. Hinata not only had not made Chūnin, she lost to her cousin Neji, who while being a prodigy, was a member of the Branch House of the clan. That was considered unacceptable; both by the standards of Hiashi and the Hyūga Family Council, a group of elders who helped Hiashi run the family. As heiress, she needed to be the best in the Jūken, or Gentle Fist, fighting style. For her to lose to Neji was a disgrace upon the Main House. If anything, she should have wiped the floor with Neji, or at the very least used the Cage Bird Seal to save face. So, for the past month and a half, Hinata had been put into a rigorous and exhausting training schedule in addition to her normal training with her team and her missions for the village.

Currently, she was in a spar with a member of the Branch House around her age. Her cousin was currently at a required training session with his sensei and Hanabi was currently in another part of the household with her personal tutor working on her studies for the Academy. So Hinata's audience consisted of the Hyūga elders, four men and four women, and her father Hiashi Hyūga, the current head of the clan, as well as a few members of the Branch House. Hinata, by nature, was not one that wanted to hurt people she cared about. It was part of the reason she did so poorly in spars against friends and family; she didn't want to cause some sort of permanent damage to someone she cared about. The Jūken was famous for being a deadly fighting style that would leave little behind for an autopsy. One proper strike to the correct area could cause serious damage to internal organs. The fear of causing that kind of damage to a member of the family or a friend scared Hinata, which is why she usually hesitated and fought defensively in any of her spars. Today, that mindset would cost her dearly.

The spar had stared out easy enough. The member of the Branch House she was sparing with was nowhere near Neji in terms of skill. The match was easy going to start with. There was nothing more than a few hits here and there, with the audience remaining silent until the match was over in order to critique. Hinata so far had the upper hand, since she managed to close off a few tenketsu in her opponent's body. However, at some point, she left herself wide open for a strike to the heart, which would have ended the match. Seeing this, in an attempt to minimize the damage and avoid a lethal strike, she spun to attempt to take the blow to the back. Unfortunately, as her opponent was going to make the strike, he pumped too much chakra into the strike. As Hinata spun to avoid the strike, the Branch member attempted to recall the strike, but it was too late. Instead of cutting off the chakra flow to his hand, Hinata's opponent accidentally created a pulse it in his palm instead of recalling it and sent the pulse into Hinata's back, right in between her shoulder blades. That freak incident did something no one present saw coming.

Hinata was immediately on her stomach, screaming her throat raw as she lay on the ground writhing in excoriating pain. She didn't know what was going on; one moment, she was sparing, the next there was a pulse from a poor Jūken strike, then this pain. She was terrified of what was going on. A Gentle Fist strike to the back, even if it was lethal or damaging, was _not _supposed to hurt like this. She simply clung to her sides as she lay on the floor. The spectators were simply trying to figure out what was going on. Even Hiashi couldn't tell what was going on. Several people were going to activate their Byakugan, but as the medics were prepared to go in, two moving lumps appeared near Hinata's back. It looked like two different masses were trying to escape her back. Everyone stood back in shock, not entirely sure what was going on with the "failure" of the clan. No one had to wait very long, for just as everyone was going to start questioning what was going on, the coat that Hinata was wearing ripped open in the back…to reveal a pair of wings. Each one was approximately five feet in length, pure white with the palest shade of lavender tinting the wings giving them an even softer look to them, and covered in soft feathers that would flow silently through the air like a human-sized owl. Everyone stood by in shock. Not a single person near the arena had a clue as to what was going on. That is, everyone except Hiashi, who had a look of surprise, fear, and unadulterated hatred on his face before putting on his stone-like façade that was typical of a Hyūga and making his way into the arena where his "daughter" lay.

Hinata made a move to raise her head to examine what was going on. Things were a little too quiet for her liking and she was a bit nervous as to what was going on. As she attempted to open her eyes-apparently at some point she closed them-she was met with the sight of feathers. _'What are these doing here?' _She touched one delicately, and was shocked to realize that the feather was attached to a wing, and that she could _feel _something coming out of her back. _'W-what's going on here?' _she frantically tried to have her mind catch up with what was going on, but before she could, Hiashi was upon her.

Hiashi grabbed his eldest daughter by the throat with his left hand and raised her up to eye level. "I do not know what kind of abomination you are trying to pass yourself off as, but I will not stand for it." Hiashi's tone was both cold as ice and scalding as fire. "Clearly, you are not human, and you are certainly no daughter of mine anymore."

"B-b-but, Otou-san," Hinata tried to speak, but she was finding it difficult as she was being choked. Before she could continue to plead and beg for forgiveness from her father however, Hiashi silenced her with a slap to the face, after he had dropped her to the ground. Hinata was on the verge of tears looking into the face of the man who she called father.

"I already told you, you are no daughter of mine. A daughter of mine would _not_ be a _freak_ of nature. It is clear that you are no Hyūga. You are nothing more than a mistake of nature; a monstrosity that was attempting to pass yourself off as human." Hiashi then raised his voice to Hinata. "As of right now, you are no longer a member of this clan. You are stripped of your title as heiress. You are not even worthy of bearing the name of Hyūga. You are no longer welcome among our clansmen and will be given five minutes to leave this compound, or you _will _be executed. Now, get out of my sight, wretch!"

Hinata, now scared, confused, and in a lot of physical and emotional pain, did the only thing that she could in the situation; she ran out of the compound as fast as she could, not even bothering to try and gather any personal belongings or trying to look back. She no longer was welcome and was now alone in the world. She ran out into the streets of the early afternoon, not fully realizing that things were going to get worse before they got better…

* * *

Team 7 just entered the gates of Konoha after returning from a C-rank mission to deliver some reports to a local town. Kakashi was still nose-deep into one of the little Icha-Icha books that he usually carried around with him. Sasuke Uchiha was as much for conversation as usual, Sakura was still trying to get a date with Sasuke while telling Naruto that he was an idiot for the sixteenth time that day-Naruto actually kept track-and Naruto was currently trying to figure out what to do when he got home that day.

Naruto let out a heavy sigh. It had been a rather boring mission. Listening to middle-age men talk about stuff like economics and the local news that was in the report was boring as hell. There were not even so much as a random group of bandits to chase down. It was essentially a D-rank mission disguised as a C-rank only because it was outside of the village. His team didn't even bother with trying to train on the way there or back. Naruto looked at his team. Lately, he had been noticing things about them that he either didn't pay attention to earlier or was ignoring up until now. For instance, he had noticed that, while it seemed that Kakashi was playing favorites by only training Sasuke, it was more for the fact that Sasuke had the Sharingan more than anything else that pretty much made him train Sasuke. Not to mention, Kakashi had tried over and over to beat into Sasuke's head the importance of teamwork and loyalty to your friends, which he explained to Naruto and Sakura shortly after the Exams was the reason he took Sasuke away during the one month between the Exam and the Finals. Granted, Naruto could tell there was more to it than that, but at least it didn't seem like Kakashi wanted to leave them high and dry.

Sasuke was also someone that Naruto began to see in a somewhat different light. Before he received his curse mark, Sasuke was a bastard. Now, he was a bastard with an anger problem. It seemed that, whatever his brother Itachi did to him when Itachi and Kisame tried to capture Naruto, it gave Sasuke a short fuse. Naruto and Sasuke were always competing now in everything: spars, training routines, even so much as outdoing each other in jutsu. He was always competitive, but Naruto was beginning to notice that Sasuke was not doing so for fun; it seemed he was trying to prove something to someone. Naruto was confused, since Sasuke always thought that he was better than everyone else to begin with. What would someone like Sasuke have to prove to anyone, much less his own team?

Finally, there was Sakura. After bringing back Tsunade to help Sasuke out of his comatose state, Naruto thought that he might have a chance to show Sakura just how much he was worth. However, after seeing her reaction to Sasuke returning to consciousness, Naruto began to realize that any chance he had with Sakura was long gone. As much as it pained him to admit it, Sasuke would always have the one thing that Naruto would never have: Sakura's affection. No matter how much Naruto achieved, no matter how strong he got, no matter how far he went as a ninja, Sakura would never seem him as more than an annoyance at best. It hurt Naruto, but he realized that maybe it would be for the better. After all, many people had been trying to tell him for years to get over her, so would it be all that bad if he did? Besides, it would be nice to at least be friends with a girl that didn't beat you up alongside the head for bad-mouthing her crush. For that matter, it would be nice for a girl to give him the time of day without adding some sort of insult.

Naruto began to think about some of the other girls in his rather limited social circle-he thought it would be weird to ask for a date from someone that wasn't around his own age- but none seemed like good ideas to try and ask about possibly becoming a girlfriend. Tenten, if Naruto remembered correctly, was Neji's teammate, had perfect accuracy, and took being a ninja seriously. Plus, she _would _appreciate the fact that he brought her idol, Tsunade, back to the village. She was OK, and a bit prettier than Sakura, but chances were she wouldn't feel comfortable being with someone who beat her own teammate as badly as Naruto had beaten him. Not to mention, she did seem more interested in a career than a relationship. Ino was definitely out; she was pretty, but also another Sasuke fan girl. Chances were, he would just be pushed aside like that if the opportunity to be with Sasuke ever changed. There was that one girl from Sunagakure, Temari, but dating someone from another village was usually considered taboo. Besides, he was a little intimidated by someone who could beat you up with a giant fan, or who had brothers who could actually kill you without leaving a body behind. Before Naruto could contemplate things further, he and the rest of Team 7 heard what appeared to be a mob on the next street over. This piqued Naruto's interest a bit while making him a little nervous.

Kakashi noticed this and inwardly sighed. Naruto didn't exactly have a pleasant childhood. True, he didn't have any assassination attempts on his life, but it didn't matter when you were mobbed at random for the first eight years of your life. Kakashi would know; he ended up saving Naruto from quite a few of these mobs back when Kakashi was a part of Naruto's protective ANBU detail, alongside Yūgao Uzuki, a man by the name of Yamato-who was codenamed Tenzō at the time-and Itachi Uchiha before he became a missing nin. He knew that Naruto was a little nervous around large groups of villagers because of this. That said, even he found it odd that there would be a mob in town that _wasn't _chasing Naruto for once. Kakashi looked at his blond student and noticed that he was curious as to what was going on. Sakura seemed annoyed that they stopped, since she wanted to try and get Sasuke on a date after the mission was over, and Sasuke seemed to be trying to see what Naruto's problem was. Kakashi decided, rather than ignore the situation, that he would let Naruto do what he felt he needed.

"Oi, Naruto."

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I take it you are worried about what that mob is for, right?" Naruto nodded a little, but Naruto was more curious than afraid.

Sasuke got a smug look on his face. "What's the matter, dobe? Are you afraid of a few civilians?" Sasuke asked in an antagonizing tone.

"Shut it, teme! You know how I feel about large groups…"

A fist slammed into Naruto's head. "Shut up, Naruto-baka! Just because you can't be man enough to face a few civilians like Sasuke-kun, doesn't mean you have to hold us up!" Her inner seemed to agree. _**'Shānnarō! Yeah, baka! You're taking away our Sasuke-kun time! Quit being a sissy and let's get this mission over with already!'**_

Kakashi intervened before things got out of hand. "I have a solution. Naruto, how about you go over and try to figure out what's going on. The rest of us will go ahead and deliver our report. This was a pretty easy mission, so I think we will be fine if you aren't there this time." Kakashi then smiled with his eye in an upside down "U" shape. Naruto thanked his sensei and ran towards the sound that the mob was coming from.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you sure you want that baka going off to find out what's going on? Knowing him, he probably would just get beaten to a pulp or something, and he would probably just end up making things worse by being the usual baka that he is," Sakura spat off.

"I trust his judgment, Sakura. He has his own reasons for doing this. Now, the rest of us have a mission to complete." With that, the rest of Team 7 left to report to the Hokage.

* * *

Naruto knew from experience that Konoha citizens didn't just gather together in a mob for no reason. When he was younger, he was the victim of several mob attacks. He would be beaten, slashed, and several other things that Naruto didn't feel comfortable remembering. Usually, it was to try and "Exterminate the Demon," or "Hunt the Fox." But, randomly mobbing when he wasn't around for the beating…it wasn't their style. He started to think about what exactly they could be attacking. He doubted that it would be another demon container like him; it wasn't exactly a status that most people bragged about and Naruto doubted that someone would just waltz into Konoha and let themselves be beaten up by a random group of people. That didn't leave much else as far as Naruto was concerned. There were enough unusual looking people in Konoha that most citizens were tolerant of other people who didn't look the same as the rest of the population. That didn't leave much to Naruto's imagination.

As Naruto rounded the corner, he saw a group of perhaps ten or twelve people beating someone or something up, with a group of about twenty or thirty surrounding them, shouting out things like "monster," "freak," and "Kami's mistake." This infuriated the blond Genin. He was pretty much looking into a portal of the past, seeing his younger self in the middle of that beating. He didn't even know what they were attacking and he already didn't care. _'Not to mention,' _Naruto thought to himself, _'there still is no ANBU or other ninja around to stop this mess. I guess I will have to stop this myself.' _Firming his resolve, Naruto made about fifty Shadow Clones to charge the mob and try to get them away from whatever held their interest. Thankfully, the crowd had recognized him as the Kyūbi brat. They may have wanted to beat him in the past, but with him being a ninja and being able to make hundreds of copies of himself, they decided to bolt to avoid a beatdown by the most hyperactive-knuckleheaded ninja in Konoha.

As soon as the crowd left, Naruto went to where they were to see what appeared to be a girl laying face-down on the street, covered in bruises and blood. What got Naruto's attention immediately was that this girl had a pair of wings growing out of her back. _'Wait, wings?' _Naruto thought. That was certainly unique, and it would probably explain why the mob attacked her; people tended to act violent towards what they didn't understand. The wings were white with what appeared to be some shade of lavender on them. He tried to see if he could get a better look at the girl, when he started to notice some rather familiar things about her. First, she was wearing the remains of a female beige or tan jacket, with what appeared to be a red flame-like symbol on them. She appeared to be around his age, or at least his size, with bluish black hair. "Wait, it can't be!" Naruto exclaimed, mostly to himself since the street still was one of the smaller ones in town and there were not that many people around right now. But, sure enough, when he turned the girl's head over to look at her face, he saw it was indeed Hinata Hyūga.

There were a lot of questions going through Naruto's mind, but first and foremost, he needed to get Hinata out of there. There was no telling just what could happen to her all out in the open like this. He created another shadow clone to go find Tsunade and get help and he created half a dozen or so more to go and try to clean his apartment so it would be easier to get Hinata inside his apartment. Trying carefully to lift her so that he wouldn't aggravate her injuries further, he ended up carrying her with her head resting against his chest and his arms directly underneath her so that her wings draped over his arms. With a small blush, since he had never carried anyone like that before, he raced to try and get Hinata to his apartment.

* * *

Tsunade's day was going well, all things considered. Ever since she took office, things were rather calm, for the most part. Granted, she hated paperwork with a passion, and listening to reports like the one she was listening to right now for Team 7 was a bit of a pain, but the perks seemed to work in her favor. No one to bother her except Shizune whenever she wanted a bottle of sake, a group of loyal ANBU that could do whatever she needed to have done, and the only people she had to answer to were a bunch of old farts on the Council that would probably kick the bucket within the next few years. So, it came as no small wonder when, while Kakashi was finishing the report, a certain blond knucklehead came knocking, or rather pounding, on her window. "Baa-chan! Baa-chan, I need your help! It's an emergency!"

Sakura walked over to the window and made a violent attempt to grab Naruto, but was caught off guard when he started waving his hands in front of his face. "Wait, wait, don't shoot the messenger clone!"

"Sakura, stand down," Tsunade ordered. Sakura then went back to admiring her crush while Sasuke went back to ignoring her. "OK, you're one of Naruto's Shadow Clones, I'm guessing. So, what brings you here?"

The clone got a little nervous, which wasn't lost on the Hokage or the Jōnin present. "Well, the boss found someone lying in the street being beaten up by a mob and asked me to come get you."

"Well, why didn't that baka actually THINK for once and take them to the hospital? That blockhead is as dense as a post!" Sakura complained.

Tsunade was in deep thought. Naruto may have liked to pull pranks, but he wouldn't joke about someone needing medical attention. It wasn't in his nature. Plus, she was just as curious as everyone else as to why he didn't simply take this person to the hospital like everyone else. A couple hundred scenarios ran through her mind, and about half of them were not pleasant. In any case, she supposed it wouldn't hurt to find out what was going on. She turned her attention to Kakashi. "Kakashi, is there anything else important you need to report that cannot be written up later?"

"Not that I'm aware of, Hokage-sama."

"Then I expect your written report sometime tomorrow. For now, go and pick up your pay. You are dismissed."

Three 'Hai' were heard as the remaining members of Team 7 exited the room. "Shizune?"

"Yes, milady?" Shizune had a feeling of what her master was going to say, but still felt it proper to at least act professional.

"I need you to cancel the rest of my appointments today. If it's Jiraiya, tell him to wait until I get back to give his report. This may be a prank, Shizune, but my gut is telling me that Naruto would not be this serious for nothing."

With that, Tsunade took a medical kit, which was stocked with both the basics for medical field treatment as well as a few odds and ends for inside cases like a camera and evidence collection kit, and headed off to fallow the Shadow Clone to Naruto's apartment.

* * *

Neji returned from his training to find the Hyūga compound a hive of activity. _'This is strange,' _he thought, _'I wonder what has gotten everyone's attention today. Did I miss an important clan meeting today?' _Deciding that he wanted answers, he walked up to a member of the Branch house that he recognized, a young man by the name of Kō Hyūga, and asked what was going on.

"Oh, Neji-san, I take it you haven't heard what was going on today?"

"Kō, I wouldn't be asking if I already knew. Did something important happen?"

"Well, Neji, it seems that Hinata has been banished from the clan…" Kō stated. Neji was a bit in shock. He would admit that, up until recently, he wasn't one of Hinata's biggest supporters; that said, even he was a little shocked to hear that she was no longer a part of the clan. Before he could ask for more information, however, the Branch member that spared with Hinata earlier rushed up to Neji. "Neji-san, Hiashi-sama demands your presence in his office at once." Neji thanked the member and walked off to see what his uncle wanted with him. "You wished to see me, Hiashi-sama?"

"Neji," Hiashi's tone already alerted Neji that something was up. Hiashi's tone, if it really could change temperatures, would have given Neji frostbite by now. "I need you to rid this household of Hinata's things. You need not know why she was banished, other than she was a disgrace to the clan. Do whatever you wish with her former belongings, but I do not wish to see them anymore. Do I make myself clear?"

"Hai, Hiashi-sama." Neji replied. He walked out of his uncle's office deep in thought. He was a bit suspicious about what exactly was going on inside the clan. One does not simply banish an heiress for no reason. The fact that everyone else was in hushed tones suggested that something big happened, but it was being kept a secret. Whatever the case may be, Neji knew that he had to preserve Hinata's things for her, if for no other reason than to find a way to give them to her. He walked into the Clan's archives and, with the help of a Main Branch member who thought highly of the former heiress, brought out a surprisingly large classified file containing all of Hinata's personal information. He then went into his room to grab a sealing scroll he got from Tenten for his birthday last year and sealed all of Hinata's personal belongings; her book of pressed flowers, a small chest under her futon that contained her diary and other various knick-knacks, her clothes, her photo album which contained all of Hinata's personal pictures, her small jewelry box which was inherited by her late mother, and a small fox plushy she received as a gag gift from her teammates while she was in the hospital. Once everything was sealed, Neji snuck out of the compound and headed straight for the Hokage tower.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Hello, and welcome to my second full fic. This idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while now and I finally decided to write it down. I got this idea after reading two different fics; one is _An Angel's Love,_ by Chewie Cookies, and the other fic's name is **_**Naruto Yuuhi**_**, by anime-death-angel, which is ****about Naruto growing a pair of red wings and being adopted by Kurenai. I wanted to make my own fic based on the idea of someone having a pair of wings.**

**You will see that Sakura and Sasuke won't be getting much love in this story. Personally, I think it would be rather dull of me to always write them in one particular fashion every time. Kakashi will be OK, but will be kinda the way he is in canon. I personally don't feel that great about Kakashi-bashing simply because I don't feel he did that much wrong other than focus too much on the past. Case in point: I feel part of the reason he trained Sasuke over Naruto back in Part I during the Chūnin Exams was because Sasuke was fighting a Jinchūriki. Sure, Naruto was fighting a Hyūga, but how long could we honestly say that Sasuke would have lasted without the Chidori against Gaara? Five minutes, maybe.**

**In case anyone is curious, Hiashi will be a bit of a villain in this, but like any **_**decent **_**villain, he has his reasons, which I will explain later. After all, if I gave away everything now, it wouldn't be much of a story, now would it? ;-)**

**As for the timeline, I tried to set this up sometime between when Tsunade is instated as Hokage and Sasuke's defection. If that wasn't clear, I apologize. One of the hardest parts about Kishimoto's storytelling is that he doesn't expose the concept of time very well. Things that look like they could take months instead take weeks. It ends up being very confusing.**

**If anyone is interested, I don't mind if you want to draw art for any of my stories. Just send me a message and give credit where it is due. I don't know, just want to throw that out there.  
**

**Sense this is my second story; I will have to balance writing this and **_**For the Sake of One.**_** I will not say my update schedule, because mostly I don't follow one. I get the idea for what I want to do for a chapter, and I write it as I go along. Be patient as I am also trying to balance college classes as well. Keep that in mind when you ask me to update quickly. If you have any questions about any of my fics, feel free to leave a review or PM me and I will see if it is something I can answer. Until next time, Ja ne!**

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_**Definitions:**_

_**Godaime**__**: Fifth**_

_**Densetsu no Sannin: Three Legendary Ninja. That is, Orochimaru, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, and Tsunade Senju.**_

_**Tenketsu: Chakra points**_

_**Sunagakure: Hidden Sand Village**_

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Please Read and Review.


	2. Chapter 2: Safe Haven

Guardian's Wings

Chapter 2: Safe Haven

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't take over 50 chapters to address issues that could at least deserve a chapter or two.**_

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When Tsunade entered Naruto's apartment after his clone gave her the directions, she was a little surprised to see more of Naruto's clones apparently doing chores. Two were sweeping the floor of his apartment in an attempt to clear away the dust on the floor, one was in the process of cleaning the few dishes that were in the sink, two were engaged in clearing out his refrigerator and household of trash, including the used ramen cups that littered his floor, a trio of clones were apparently cleaning the bathroom, and two were taking two baskets full of clothes to the complex's Laundromat for some heavy-duty cleaning. The tenth Naruto, who Tsunade was hoping was the original, walked up to greet her in his usual boisterous tone. "Baa-chan, you're finally here!"

Despite growing a tick mark at her nickname, she was a little more concerned for his emergency call here. "Look, Naruto, while I think it's great that you are cleaning up after yourself, unless this is an actual emergency, I need-"

"But it is, Baa-chan! Follow me!" Naruto stated while he led Tsunade into his apartment. She had to admit it was a quaint little living space. There was a potted plant that looked well kept in the kitchen area, which was the first room that was seen when you walked inside. A small table and two chairs made up the furniture inside the kitchen, with a refrigerator, a stove that looked overused, and a microwave oven that looked practically unused_, _were the only appliances. A small sink completed the kitchen. To the right was the small hallway that divided off into the bathroom and shower and the bedroom.

Tsunade followed the blond Genin to his bedroom. Apparently the bedroom was currently the only part of the household not engaged in a form of spring cleaning. Naruto made a motion to open the door, but hesitated. Tsunade could see the conflict going on in his eyes. She waited for a few minutes for Naruto to try and summon the courage to show her what was behind the door before she got impatient. "Naruto, either you open that door or I will be forced to fine you for filing a false report." It was more of a request than an order, since she didn't know just what was going on with her fellow blond or why he seemed uncharacteristically hesitant.

After waging a war in his mind, Naruto reluctantly agreed and led the female Hokage into his bedroom. What Tsunade saw stunned her; there on Naruto's bed was the Hyūga heiress-she wasn't aware of the girl's circumstances yet-with a pair of wings growing out of her back. She spent the next minute trying to release any form of genjutsu that may have been placed on her as a prank. When the Godaime realized that the wings were in fact real, she was slightly stunned. Granted, this was not the strangest thing that she had ever seen-that honor went to a chorus line of dancing toads on her 21st birthday courtesy of her perverted teammate-but it was quite unbelievable. She walked over to the girl, who was apparently resting, and noticed her condition. She turned around to Naruto, who began to explain how he saw her being attacked by a small mob and brought her here, since he didn't quite know how the hospital staff would react to a human with wings. "Naruto, I will do what I can; though truth be told I have never seen anything like this before. That said I need you to leave the room. I may end up having to try and take some of her clothes off in order to check for other injuries. So, unless you _want _Hinata-chan here to think you are a pervert or something, I'm going to have to ask you to leave for now." She smirked as Naruto had a blush that was a deep shade of red and fled out of the room faster than Orochimaru in a hawk sanctuary. She chuckled a bit as he left before turning her attention to Hinata.

For starters, Tsunade checked up on her wings, seeing as how they were the part of her anatomy that held the most interest. She checked Hinata's back where the wings came out to see two unique characteristics: one was the fact that there appeared to be flaps where the wings could enter or possibly fold into the body, and the second was what appeared to be part of a seal that was deteriorating slower than normal. The seal, from what Tsunade could tell, was the kanji for "wings," with what appeared to be half of a set of runes surrounding the kanji in a circular formation. She assumed that whatever caused the seal to activate was probably the reason that it was beginning to fade. Acting quickly, Tsunade brought out a camera from her kit and took several pictures of the seal. A camera was standard on any in-village medical kit because most cases inside a village were for abuse or some other crime, so cameras and other such supplies would be needed to document abuse or other significant findings.

After taking documentation of the seal, Tsunade checked out Hinata's other injuries. Thankfully, outside of some bruising on her arms and legs, as well as a few cuts and shallow stab wounds, her injuries were fairly minor. Remarkably, her wings seemed undamaged, if only a little dirty. Tsunade guessed that somehow the wings could act somewhat like a shield for Hinata, but as to how they didn't have a scratch on them she didn't have a clue. Tsunade scanned Hinata's body up and down to check for any sort of broken bones or other injuries, occasionally stopping to heal a nasty wound or to heal some of the bruising after documenting it in her medical report. After doing this, she moved on to Hinata's head and neck to check for head trauma. That is when she noticed the bruising on the left side of Hinata's face and neck. It was uncharacteristic of the rest of her injuries. By the looks of things, she was forcibly grabbed by the neck and harshly slapped across her face. These injuries were not consistent with a group beating. They looked more like injuries Tsunade had seen with cases of child abuse.

"Just what the hell happened to you, Hinata?" Tsunade asked to no one in particular. After a few more minutes of checking injuries and recording things down, Tsunade recalled Naruto, who had finished cleaning his apartment up as best as he could. Tsunade didn't know how he would react to what she had planned, or for that matter what she was going to do about all this, but she needed to take things one step at a time.

"OK, gaki, I fixed her up as best as I could. Now, I'm not entirely sure what's going on here with your little friend, but for right now, she needs to stay here."

"What!?! B-b-but, Tsunade-baachan, what am I gonna do? I-I still have to meet with my team, do missions, and all the rest of that kinda stuff! I can't just abandon my duties as a ninja!"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Naruto, just shut up and listen." After he quieted down, she continued. "Look, I assume you didn't bring her to the hospital due to her wings, right?" Even saying it seemed off for the fifty year old Hokage. Naruto nodded. "In her condition, she probably isn't going to be moving very far for a while. She is going to be sore for a while, and whatever caused her to grow those wings obviously took a lot out of her. She will probably tire easily and be kinda hungry when she gets up and about. I am not sure I want very many people around right now, especially since some of the injuries she had don't look like they came from whatever beating she took at the hands of that mob you witnessed. I will do my best to keep people from harassing you as best as I can, but right now she needs a friend and she needs a place to stay away from prying eyes. I can cover for you as far as your team is concerned, and if money is an issue, I can help you there myself. I would assign this as a mission, but it would be classified as an A-rank and I can't assign an A-rank mission to a Genin by himself."

She forestalled any other arguments by holding her hand up. "Besides, when she does wake up, you will probably need to calm her down. Chances are she will be very confused and scared over what is going on right now. Just try to be patient with her. Either Shizune or I will be by sometime tomorrow to check up on her to make sure that she is healing properly. If I can find anything that might explain what is going on, she will be the first to know. Other than that, the only people that I expect will want to know what is going on will probably be her team and yours. So, unless it is someone in that group, or unless it is someone you trust, please keep them out and not let them see her like this. Do you understand, Naruto?"

He simply nodded his head. He was a little unsure about taking care of Hinata, not because he thought she was a monster, but because he had never had anyone in his home before, let alone a girl. Plus, he wasn't entirely sure that Hinata would want him around. Why should she, when she could barely stay conscious enough to have a conversation with him? Not to mention that she would turn red just by looking at him. He probably always did something embarrassing around her and it got her mad enough to turn her face completely red! But, the "old hag" as he so affectionately called her, had a good point. If the civilian reaction was anything to go by, something like this would be a little too much for most to handle. "Don't worry, Baa-chan, I promise nothing bad will happen to her while I'm around! You know me! I never go back on my word, because that is my nindo, my Way of the Ninja! Dattebayo!" Tsunade ruffled his hair and went straight back to her office. She had some serious planning to do and some evidence to look over. She most likely also had a perverted seals master to talk to.

* * *

Hiashi Hyūga sat in his office thinking about the day's events. After the initial shock of what happened died down, he and the other elders tried to track down the former heiress, but with no luck. They would have used the Byakugan to search, but every building that had been built since the time of the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had been enhanced with materials that prevented the use of the Byakugan to see into buildings and such. Apparently, the general population was unnerved by the idea of a large group of people that could see through walls. _'As they should be,' _thought Hiashi. It was the belief amongst many in the clan that, with the Uchiha and Senju clans only having one member left in each family, that the Hyūga were the most powerful clan in Konoha. As such, they were entitled to run things their own way, with no interference from outsiders. It was part of the reason why the clan had almost always been at odds with the Hokage as of late; the clan was always seen by others as pushing the boundaries of their authority. Hiashi himself had been at odds with both the late Sandaime and Yondaime Hokages for his clan's actions, especially the use of the Hyūga Main Family's Cursed Seal Technique. Both the Third Hokage and the Fourth Hokage felt that the use of the seal, while having practical purposes, was borderline torture for the abuse it could be used for against the Branch House.

However, none of that even registered in Hiashi's mind. What filled his thoughts were a sense of betrayal, hatred, and anger towards his late wife, Sango Hyūga. It was considered law in the clan that either you married within the Hyūga clan or you married a civilian with no ties or history of being born into any other clan. One of the biggest fears the Hyūga had was the possibility of either loosing the Byakugan to another clan by having a child with another person that was not a Hyūga by birth or marriage. The worst fear, however, was having the Byakugan tainted by another clan. It was feared that, if there was a child between two people with one being a bearer of the Byakugan and the other either having a different Kekkei Genkai or a Hiden jutsu, then the parents would run the risk of diluting the Byakugan, thereby tainting it. There would be the possibility that the Byakugan would be considerably weaker than someone of "pure birth." If that were to happen, then it would be possible to pass the tainted eyes to their offspring and continue to taint the clan until the Byakugan was all but useless.

However, Hiashi had chosen not to have a marriage from within the clan, for he feared inbreeding more than he feared outsiders. That is what drew him to Sango. She was a no-name peasant who was not known to have any sort of family history with any known clan. She was a beauty and kind to a fault. He fell deeply in love with her, and married her five years before the attack of the Kyūbi no Yōko. Two months or so after the attack, she gave him a daughter, which they named Hinata. However, it was after his second daughter's birth, the birth of Hanabi, which exposed a dark secret that Sango had managed to keep from Hiashi all that time.

* * *

**Flashback: Four weeks after Hanabi's birth**

_Hiashi walked towards the bedroom of his beloved wife, Sango. He had been out of town on important business for the birth of his second daughter, just as he had been for the birth of his first daughter. He was looking forward to watching his wife with his child in her arms. However before he opened the door to the master bedroom, he noticed an unusual glow coming from the room. Hiashi quickly tried to unlock the door, but only made it in after the glow had long since faded. When Hiashi opened the door, he was met with an unbelievable sight. There stood his wife, slightly sweating…with a pair of wings growing out of her back. Lying in the crib next to the bed was his four week old daughter Hanabi. Acting quickly, Hiashi knocked Sango unconscious and took her away into a deep part of the woods outside Konoha._

_When Sango awoke, she was met by the sight of her husband brandishing the family katana. She was scared out of her wits, primarily because she knew what was coming and knew that she could do nothing to stop him as long as she was restrained and had her tenketsu sealed. Despite that knowledge, she did her best to try and calm down her raging husband. "Hiashi-danna, what is the meaning of this?"_

"_You know damn well what this is about, you bloodline whore," Hiashi practically spat. "You __**lied **__to me! You told me that you had no Kekkei Genkai! You said you were an unnamed civilian with no ties to any other clan! I want answers, and I want them __**now!**__"_

_Sango was in tears at this point, especially after Hiashi dropped the use of her name and 'koi' and instead chose to start throwing insults at her. A few were leaking out of Hiashi's eyes as well. "I gave you my heart, I married you, and I even shared the same bed with you. Do you really think you could have kept this a secret for that long!?! Answer me, Sango!" Hiashi raged._

"_I lied because I loved you, Hiashi!" Sango yelled. "I was in love with you, but I knew your clan would never have let you and me be together if they knew about my abilities. I knew what your clan rules said, so I kept my secret in the hopes that you would never find out. Please, forgive me…"_

_Hiashi was having a hard time keeping his composure. Here was his wife, someone who he gave his whole heart to, someone who he shared his most precious moments with, a monstrosity of nature. Her bloodline barely even made her human! How could you hide a pair of __**wings**__? Hiashi was torn; here was the love of his life, and by her own actions he would have to be the one to remove the stain from the clan. "You know very well what I must do, Sango…"_

"_Before you do, Hiashi, I have two favors to ask of you; consider it my last request, as a person and as your wife," Sango said as she began to realize that these would be the last moments of her life on Earth._

_Hiashi nodded. He may have hated things right now, and he hated his wife-no, this thing in front of him-with a burning passion, but he would at least be honorable enough to grant the last requests of a soon to be dead woman. "First, Hiashi-kun, answer me this; if things were different, had you not been the head of the clan, had you only been another member of the family, had you known my secret, would you still go through with all of this? Would you have stood up for our marriage, our courtship, and the births of our children? Would you still love me?"_

_Hiashi's answer was swift. "Had I known your secret, I would __**never **__have courted you. I cannot say if I would have still loved you, but as the Head of the Clan, I need to do what is best for it. I cannot and will not risk the Hyūga dōjutsu for something as flimsy as my ill-begotten love for a monster like you. I would have followed clan tradition by killing our first-born on the spot and killed you for your possible taint. You know that." Hiashi's tone was as ice cold as the frozen lands of Yuki no Kuni. "You are a mistake of nature-"_

"_Any more so than any other Kekkei Genkai makes you a mistake? Hiashi, you-"_

"_**SILENCE!" **__Hiashi's declaration was short and to the point. "I will not be lectured by the likes of you! You have no right to talk of the Byakugan like that. It is now considered __**the **__ultimate dōjutsu in this village, even in the world! It will not be threatened by the likes of you. Now, you have one last request, before I carry out your punishment."_

_Sango knew that nothing she said now would ever be able to change Hiashi's mind. One of his biggest faults had always been his supreme loyalty to his clan first and all others second. If he had to choose between the clan and the village, he would always rule in favor of his clan. Her only regret now was that she wouldn't be able to say goodbye to either one of her daughters. "You are not the man I married, Hiashi Hyūga. You are a monster that masquerades as a man. You simply destroy anything that doesn't fit in with your world view. However, if any part of the man I fell in love with is still in there, then I have one last request to fill. Please, do not let my daughters suffer for my mistake. Please, let them live!"_

_Hiashi was torn. On the one hand, by clan law Sango and the lives of her children were forfeit. She no longer had a say in the matter as to what would happen to them. On the other hand, this was the love of his life, and as such, he did need to carry out at least one of her requests. "Very well, I will grant you your last request. However, if either of your daughters show signs of your cursed bloodline, I will be forced to correct my mistake, is that clear?"_

_Sango nodded. She hoped one day, her daughters would forgive her for not being able to keep her secret a bit longer to be able to be there for them. She had a feeling that things were going to be very rough for the both of them, and she knew that no one would help them. 'I am so sorry. Hanabi-tan, Hinata-chan, I hope you find it in your hearts to forgive your foolish mother one day for all the pain I am about to cause you…' With that, Hiashi charged his wife with his katana, channeling chakra into it, and beheaded Sango Hyūga. He then whistled for two members of the Branch House that were waiting on his signal. "Dispose of the body. If you repeat even one word of what happened here, not even the Inuzuka hunter-nin will be able to find your wretched corpses." With that, Hiashi left the clearing with a heavy heart._

**End Flashback**

**

* * *

**

Hiashi creased his brow in fury. No one was to know of what happened that night, and it was to never be spoken of again. After the incident, he began increasing the severity of Hinata's training before giving her up as a lost cause and putting her training under the care of Kurenai Yūhi. Then this mess happened. He knew what he would eventually have to do, and he only hoped that it was only Hinata that he would be forced to eliminate. He could handle her loss; Hinata was a failure anyway. However, he knew that he could be forced to also eliminate his other daughter, Hanabi. He would have to wait and see if she developed the same bloodline as her mother. For now, though, his first priority would be to find Hinata…and finally eliminate her stain on the name of Hyūga.

* * *

Tsunade came back to her office and immediately sent the photos that she collected to the ANBU Crime Scene Investigation Department for development with an S-class ranking on them, meaning that she would be the only one to see them or anyone who exposed what was on those photographs to anyone would be immediately executed. As she was waiting for the photos to develop, she was in the middle of discussing her findings with her old teammate, the Village's Madness Jiraiya. After the photos developed-it didn't take all that long since it was of such a high classification-Jiraiya and Tsunade, with help from Shizune, poured over every detail trying to figure out what was going on with Hinata.

"Well, Tsunade-hime, I can't really tell you much about this. This seal is not something I have ever encountered before. If it was on her, then it was either a clan seal, in which case it would have stayed with whatever clan she got her wings from, or it was a newly created seal that has never been documented. In either case, I can't say I can give you much info about this. Sorry."

Tsunade shook her head. "It's not your fault, Jiraiya. To be honest, I don't quite know what is with those wings. It was like they somehow where able to protect the girl from the majority of the damage she would have received. Not only that, look at these," she said as she held up the photos of the bruising on her neck and face. "These are not consistent with a mob beating; these are more closely related to bruising patterns we see on abuse patients. Someone slapped her, hard, and strangled her with one hand. It is a miracle she is even alive."

"But, Tsunade___-_shishō___, _who would do something like that to someone like Hinata?"

"I'm not entirely sure Shizune; someone had it out for the girl. I would have interviewed her when I checked up on her this afternoon, but I felt that waking her up in her condition would only aggravate the situation. For now though, we need to figure out just what is going on…" Before Tsunade could continue, there was a knock on the door to her office. "Just wait a minute, please! OK, whoever this is, we do not speak of what is going on with Hinata, got that you two? The last thing we need right now is to have a swarm of people gossiping about all of this, got it?" The room's other two occupants agreed. The last thing Hinata needed right now was a ton of publicity.

"OK, Enter!" Tsunade commanded to whoever was on the other side of the door. The door opened to reveal Neji Hyūga with a giant scroll strapped to his back and what appeared to be a large black file under his arm. "Hokage-sama," Neji greeted with a bow.

Tsunade was a bit curious as to the nature of Neji's visit and decided to tread cautiously. Right now, her instincts were telling her to be extra cautious around the Hyūga clan right now, what with everything going on for Hinata right now. "Neji, what brings you here this evening?"

Neji stood at attention. "Hokage-sama, I have come here to ask for a favor." Granted, that wasn't the best way to answer the Hokage, but Neji decided to continue on anyway in the hopes that he could explain himself better. "I recently found out about Hinata being banished from the clan. Unfortunately, whatever circumstances that incited this decision have been covered up by the clan. I do not know what exactly is going on, but as soon as I returned from practice today, Hiashi-sama commanded me to rid the compound of Hinata's things. That is what this scroll on my back is for; it contains Hinata's things, which I sealed into the scroll for easy storage. The file I am carrying was given to me by a member of the Main House. Apparently it is a file on Hinata, though what it contains is anyone's guess, since it has a blood seal that only Hinata can open. Since I do not know where Hinata ended up, I ask that, if you know where she is, that you give these things to her as they are rightfully hers. I cannot, in good conscious, simply dispose of her things like yesterday's garbage."

"Alright, I will do that, Neji. I do know where your cousin is, but right now her status is classified information on a need to know basis. I cannot go into details, but if you wish to find out, I can arrange things so that you and your teammates would pair up with her team to do some errands for the person that is taking care of her right now. It would be classified as a D-rank mission, but I can explain things more tomorrow. Does that work for you?" The Legendary Sucker asked.

"Of course, Tsunade-sama."

"Good, in that case, I will see you and your team tomorrow afternoon. You are dismissed." With that, Neji returned to the Hyūga compound with a contemplative look on his face. _'Hopefully, I will be able to find out what is going on with you, cousin,'_ Neji thought as he walked out of the tower towards the Hyūga compound.

* * *

Hinata woke up at some point in the night. She couldn't tell what time it was, since she couldn't find a clock anywhere. It must have been late, since the full moon was out already; the moon was back-dropped by a clear night with the stars shining brightly. She was going to panic about being in an unfamiliar room, when she realized two things. First, she was still fully clothed, so nothing too bad had happened yet. Second, she noticed the picture on a windowsill in the room. It was a picture of Team 7. _'Oh no, Kami please no, please let this just be a horrible nightmare…'_ she thought as panic began to set in. She was hoping against all hope that this wasn't the place she was thinking it was.

Her hopes were dashed when she heard a familiar voice behind her, one that would make her go weak in the knees on any other occasion, but right now filled her with dread. "Oh, Hinata, you're already up," was what was heard from her crush, Naruto Uzumaki. Hinata couldn't take it; she was trapped in the bedroom of her crush with no possible escape, with a pair of wings growing out of her back. So, she did what came naturally to her. "GO AWAY!" she screamed as she went to the corner of the room and wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her shoulders while her wings closed around her, looking like a cocoon of feathers. The sound of crying could be heard as she attempted to shrink into the corner of the room.

Naruto was a bit shocked at her outburst, but knew that Hinata needed reassurance right now. Tsunade did say that she would probably be scared out of her mind when she got her bearings and that she would need a friend right now. He may not have known Hinata all that long, but Naruto knew what it was like to be an outcast for something beyond his control. Not only that, but seeing Hinata like this, for some reason, it hurt Naruto. The way see seemed so small and fragile, the way her tears seemed to claw at his heart, the way that her sobs felt like a million blazing kunai stabbing into the core of his being, even the way she shivered like she was in the middle of a blizzard seemed to hurt him. He had never felt like this for anything before. It was as if a crying Hinata was a cardinal sin against Kami; it was as if seeing her so scared and alone defied all the known laws of nature in the most cruel way possible. He needed to rectify the situation. He needed to, somehow, help Hinata through her pain. Slowly, he walked over to her and got on his knees in front of her. He slowly pushed aside the wings to look at Hinata. "Hinata, it's OK. You don't have to be scared."

"N-n-naruto-kun, please. I-I-I-I don't want you t-t-to s-s-s-see me li-like this," Hinata pleaded in a voice Naruto almost had to strain to hear. She didn't want to hear the accusation in his voice, or the hatred, disgust, and all-around loathing that was sure to follow. Her heart was beginning to shatter, knowing that her crush could never accept someone like her. After all, how could he accept a freak like her? He had his sights on Sakura; how could Hinata compete with someone who was normal? The tears were flowing freely now, knowing that Hinata would never be able to do the things that she wanted to do: tell Naruto how much she cared about him, help out her former clan, or even become a mother.

What Naruto did next shocked the former heiress; Naruto pulled her out of the corner, placed her on his bed, and hugged her. "It's OK, Hinata, I'm here…" For Naruto, he was trying his best to calm her down as much as he could. All he knew was that he had to keep talking and hopefully, he could see a part of the Hinata that he knew was still there. "You don't have to be scared of me."

"B-b-but, I'm a f-freak, a m-m-monstrosity, a-a-a m-mistake of K-kami-sama!"

"You are not any of those things, Hinata. You are a kind person, a friend, and a human being just like me. So, you have wings, big deal! We're ninja; we've seen plenty of weird stuff. I mean, I've ridden on a gigantic talking toad and fought a guy that could turn into a giant sand raccoon-thing, for crying out loud!" He said this in a tone that would warm the heart, or at least elicit a giggle, from most anyone that heard it. "Anyone that thinks you are a freak, a monster, or anything like that can kiss my furry orange ass!" Even in her distraught state, Hinata smiled a little bit. "There, that's the Hinata I know!" He said with a satisfied grin.

Hinata looked up to Naruto with an analyzing look. She was checking for any sign of deceit, or any sign of disgust in his eyes or anywhere else in his body language. She saw no deceit or disgust in his cerulean orbs. All she could see was full understanding and total care. She was amazed. He not only didn't think she was a freak, he even wanted to be around her. She practically threw herself into his arms and cried into his shirt, clutching his chest as if her very life depended on it. For the next half an hour, the two Genin stayed like that, one trying to pour out all of her frustrations and fears, the other trying to take on the burdens of the first to ease the pain. After she calmed down, Naruto continued to hold her, as she was slowly but surely becoming more tired.

"You know, Hinata, you could probably tell me how you got like this, but I think we can wait until tomorrow. I'll, uh, leave you to have my bed. I can sleep in the living room or something." With that he made a motion to leave the room.

"N-naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned as he made to leave the room. He turned around and asked if there was something she needed. She supported a minute blush on her cheeks. "Um…c-can I ask you f-for a f-f-favor?" she asked cautiously, in the hopes that she wouldn't be overstepping on Naruto's generosity and kindness. He asked her what she wanted in a curious tone. "I wanted t-to know if…if you would share the bed w-with me tonight?" She quickly looked away, embarrassed that she asked and ashamed because she was afraid that either Naruto would think she was some kind of wanton woman or would not want to be so close to someone like her.

However, rather than be off-put by the suggestion, or even offended, Naruto looked confused. "A-are you sure, Hinata? I mean, I wouldn't want you thinking I'm some kinda perv or something. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't do something like that to you in my sleep, but I don't want you to feel awkward around me." Hinata looked at him in wonder. Why would she think that?

"I-it's nothing like t-that, Naruto-kun. I-I just don't want to…feel alone tonight." She quietly finished. It was silent for about a minute before there was an added weight to the bed. Hinata looked around to see Naruto crawling into bed, lifting the covers, and inviting Hinata in. She climbed in, and immediately hugged him and rested her head on the crook of his neck, her wings covering the both of them with the blankets resting on top. "Th-thank you, Naruto-kun…" she said as she drifted off to sleep.

Naruto laid there for a while as he watched Hinata sleep. She would occasionally shiver and whimper in her sleep, signifying that she was having a terrible dream. This would cause him to wrap his arms around Hinata and try to hold her close. As he held her there, he was struck with how right everything felt. For some reason, holding Hinata like this felt as natural as breathing. Naruto was confused by what he was feeling, but whatever it was, he thought it felt right. He looked down at the sleeping form on top of him and made a promise._ 'I promise you, Hinata, even if the whole village turns its back on you, I won't abandon you. You are too good a person to let down and see you like this. That is a promise of a lifetime.'_

_

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**Author's Notes: Well, that's Chapter 2. I hope you all enjoyed. Now, I said that Hiashi had his reasons for feeling the way he did, right? Well, I hope you could understand them. Yeah, I know that this makes the Hyūga look like the Uchiha, and that's the point! It is my firm belief that, for as powerful and wealthy as the Hyūga are, it amazes me that they didn't follow the same path as the Uchiha when they became top dogs. Only time will tell just how far their treachery will go…**

**I know the seal was a bit lame, but I honestly couldn't' figure out how to make the seal something that didn't look like a Hyūga clan seal. More will be explained about it when the time comes to explain Hinata's new Kekkei Genkai. For now, you will have to wait and see.**

**I am also curious as to why people keep telling me to write longer chapters. Each one tends to be at least 3,000 to 5,000 words long. I am not going to be writing a 10,000 some odd long chapter for anything. I would just be droning on at that point. As for updating soon, I will update when I can, since I cannot write fan fiction all day long; I do have other responsibilities like college homework and things. I will update when I have time. I'm sorry.**

**Finally, to address any other concerns, Hinata was attacked by a mob because people thought she was a monster, not an angel. The only "Angel" I've seen in canon was Konan, and that was in Amegakure. I have my doubts that the people of Konoha would feel the same way to a person with a pair of wings sticking out of their backs. People fear what they do not understand, and sometimes that leads to violence.**

**As always, leave a review and send me a message if you have any questions or things that you don't want to put in a review. Ja ne!**

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_**Definitions:**_

_**Baa-chan: Affectionate way of saying "Grandma"**_

_**Gaki: Brat**_

_**Nindo: Rule that a ninja lives by, such as never going back on your word**_

_**Nidaime: Second**_

_**Sandaime: Third**_

_**Yondaime: Fourth**_

_**-Danna: Husband**_

_**-Koi: Love**_

_**-Shishō: Master**_

_**-Tan: Baby talk version of Chan**_

_**Yuki no Kuni: Land of Snow**_

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Please Read and Review.


	3. Chapter 3: Initial Reactions

Guardian's Wings

Chapter 3: Initial Reactions

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. My name is not Kishimoto, so you can stop calling me that anytime now…**_

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It was 8:00 at the start of a new morning in Konohagakure no Sato. People were just beginning to awaken to start their morning routines. Businesses were opening their doors to the morning rush. Sunlight peered through the window of Naruto's quaint apartment the fallowing morning. He yawned and attempted to get out of bed, when he realized that something was off. There seemed to be some sort of weight on him that he was sure was not his, and he was pretty sure that he didn't own any pets or summon any toads to keep him company. He looked down to find a mess of bluish-black hair and a pair of wings. That was when the events from the previous day came rolling back into his mind.

'_Now I remember! I found Hinata lying in the street and Baa-chan wanted me to watch her. Yeah, and then Hinata and I talked and…' _he trailed off before remembering Hinata's request, which gave him a blush in remembrance. True to his word, he didn't do anything perverted last night, but he still was a little flustered about the whole ordeal. After all, it wasn't every day that you woke up to the sight of a good friend sleeping on top of you.

That statement threw Naruto for a loop. Since when had Hinata become a good friend? Heck, since when did he see her as more than a shy, dark, weirdo? For that matter, why was he so defensive of her lately? Maybe it had something to do with her wings, but it didn't explain why he was so hesitant to let anyone, even people he fully trusted, near her. Truth be told, he was baffled by what he was doing. For some reason it felt right, but it didn't fully make sense to him. He supposed that the Chūnin Exams probably helped improve his opinion of her, but she still acted kind of weird around him. He knew for a fact that it wasn't normal for a girl to stutter around everyone, and it definitely wasn't normal for a girl to faint all of the time. Before he could continue his musings, Hinata decided to wake up with a yawn that, if Naruto was to be honest, was cuter than the mewling of a kitten. No sooner than the thought crossed his mind did a blush adorn his whiskered cheeks.

'_Man, where are all of these thoughts coming from?'_

Hinata was slow to wake up. She opened her eyes to see Naruto staring back at her. Seeing him, she thought she was dreaming still, so she decided to close her eyes, mumble a 'good morning' to the "Dream Naruto," and try to fall back asleep. Only then did she begin to realize a few things. One, she wasn't in her room at the Hyūga Compound. Two, she could detect the faint smell of ramen everywhere. Three, she was feeling sore, which was a clear indicator to her that she was most likely awake. Finally, the form she was on top of didn't feel like a mattress. That was when she grew wide-eyed and practically jumped off the bed in the horrid realization that, not only had she slept alongside Naruto last night, she was in his apartment. Unfortunately, in doing so, she also knocked over some items on the shelf behind her, which made her even more panicked. When she tried to remember why she was in Naruto's apartment to begin with, the previous day's events came rolling back to her and she became even more nervous.

Naruto, not quite expecting that reaction, had to take a moment to get over his surprise at the actions of the former heiress. After getting over his slight shock, he walked over to the heiress to calm her down a little before picking up the miscellaneous items that fell off his shelf. When she finally gained some form of composure, he decided to try and at least give some form of morning greeting. "Uh, morning Hinata. Um…sleep well? I hope I, you know, didn't bother you or anything…"

"N-n-no, it was f-fine, Naruto-kun," Hinata managed to stutter out once she got her bearings. "I-I ap-p-pologize if I inconvenienced you..."

"Naw, it was fine! I'm just not used to sharing an apartment is all!" Naruto said. He then remembered what Tsunade told him yesterday and tried to figure out how Hinata was holding up. "So, Hinata, how are you feeling? Baa-chan told me you would probably be real tired and sore and stuff-"

Hinata looked mortified. "T-t-the H-hokage saw m-m-me like this!?!" It was hard enough to have to deal with her own family seeing her yesterday, but to have the _Hokage_ see her in her condition? Hinata was just about to have a panic attack when Naruto tried to calm her down.

"W-wait, Hinata, it's not what you think! She wasn't really upset or anything, just surprised! You looked pretty beat up, so I went to get Baa-chan and see if she could help fix you up. You kinda did look like hell warmed over after I chased that mob! She just wanted to make sure you were alright, OK? Please don't be mad!"

Hinata stopped for a moment to absorb Naruto's words. She supposed that jumping to conclusions wasn't' good for her, but from what Naruto said, she supposed that it made sense. If she did sustain any sort of injury, she supposed that Tsunade, being a medic nin, would be obliged to help. Still, it was a little unnerving to have the Hokage get so close to her. Before she could continue her mental ramblings however, she grew a little lightheaded and had to sit down on the bed.

"Woah, take it easy, Hinata! Baa-chan said you might be a little tired and stuff after all of this, so why don't you just sit here? I'll go make us some ramen or something. That is, if you're hungry or anything."

"T-that would b-b-be fine, Naruto-kun. Um…I'll have ch-ch-chicken flavor if you have it."

"Alright, great, I'm sure I can find a cup of chicken for you!" As Naruto was going to leave, Hinata made a sound to indicate that there was something else she wanted to say.

"Um…I just w-wanted to say…thank you, Naruto-kun. I know I must be a terrible burden to you like this-"

"Hey, don't be like that, Hinata! I told you, it's no problem! You are not a burden at all! You're just, different is all. Besides, what are friends for, if they don't help each other out once in a while?" With that, Naruto made for his kitchen to cook up a morning breakfast. Hinata sighed. She supposed it would have been too much to suppose that Naruto would have liked her as anything more than a friend, but she figured she would not complain. Right now, things were not making a whole lot of sense to her and she was glad that she was at least accepted by her crush, even if it was as nothing more than just a friend.

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Tsunade looked at the four people before her. Team Gai, as they were now known as, were waiting for the remaining members of Team Eight to appear. Tenten was in sitting on the floor, balancing a kunai on her fingertips while watching Rock Lee do push-ups with one finger and Maito Gai sitting on his back giving boisterous encouragement. Neji was simply leaning against the wall with a faraway look in his usually emotionless pale eyes. Except for Neji, no one was quite aware of who or what they were waiting for, but luckily for the team; they didn't have to wait long. After Lee completed his 500th push-up, three of the four members of Team Eight walked in with a slightly distressed look on their faces. It was Kurenai that was first to speak.

"Tsunade-sama, I apologize for being late, but my team and I cannot find Hinata anywhere and-"

"It is alright, Kureani. If you would be so kind as to shut the door, I will be able to begin this meeting."

"But, Hokage-sama, shouldn't we send out a party to try and track Hinata-san down?"

"I am sure all of you have questions, Shino, but I would ask that you please close the door. I will explain things to you once we are all settled here." With that, Team 8 closed the door behind them with Team Gai joining them at standing at attention. To the surprise of everyone, Shizune, who had been standing beside Tsunade with Ton-Ton in her arms, put the pig down and went to set up some security seals around the office before returning to her master's side.

"I have called both of your teams here for a special mission. It technically counts as a D-rank mission, but it has at least A-rank, if not S-rank, secrets attached." This got a few curious and dumbfounded expressions from everyone. "Yesterday afternoon, Hinata was found by one of our shinobi being attacked by a mob-"

"WHAT!?! Are you kidding me? When I get my hands on the bastards that did this, I'll-"

"Silence! Kiba, let me finish before you have another outburst like that, or I will personally see to it that you are sent back to the academy for remedial training, am I perfectly clear?"

When he was done protesting, Tsunade continued. "As I said, she was found by one of our shinobi yesterday and is currently recovering at that person's apartment. They would have taken her to the hospital, but due to some rather…unusual complications, I was forced to treat her there. I would tell you exactly what her condition is, but I have my doubts about if you would believe me at face value." She took a moment to gage their reactions, but Kurenai decided to interject before she could get that far.

"Hokage-sama, doesn't it defeat the purpose of stating that there are such high secrets involved with her condition, then not tell us about it?"

Tsunade sighed. "Yes, I suppose it does. But, as I said, if I were to tell you, you wouldn't believe me. On that you can trust me."

"I would not be too sure, Hokage-sama. Why, do you ask? As we are ninja, we see some rather peculiar things on a regular basis. I am sure we could believe in just about anything you could tell us." With that, Shino returned to his otherwise quiet persona. Tsunade was in contemplation. On the one hand, she didn't want to have too many people crowding Hinata until she could figure out more of what was going on. Not to mention, she wasn't even sure how well anyone would take this news. On the other hand, she supposed that they would find out eventually, seeing as how they would be on a mission to help her out. Besides, she had Hinata's cousin, two of the most eccentric shinobi in the village, Hinata's team, and a bun-haired kunoichi whose sole interactions with other people seemed to center around her team. If anyone could be somewhat understanding, she supposed that these seven people probably could.

"Alright, I will tell you all what is going on, but for right now, until we learn more about her circumstances, anything having to do with Hinata is considered top secret until otherwise told, understand?" With the nods of the five Genin and two Jōnin, she began to tell them what she knew, starting with her wings and working from there. At the end, she gaged the reactions of all seven of them. Gai and Lee seemed fascinated, but that came as little surprise, seeing as how the two of them could probably look a tailed beast in the eye and not be intimidated in the least. Tenten seemed unnerved, but if she thought anything ill of Hinata, she wisely kept it to herself. Neji was harder to read, but she supposed that anything that didn't look like a look of pure malice from the usually stoic Branch member was a good sign. Shino, true to his personality, didn't show any outward sign of emotion other than his raised eyebrows, but Tsunade wasn't expecting much anyway. Kiba had a look that clearly stated that he thought this was some big joke, whereas Kurenai wore a worried look, which made sense seeing as how she was a major figure in young Hinata's life. It was the young Inuzuka that decided to speak up first.

"So, let me get this straight; Hinata, out of _nowhere, _sprouted a pair of wings, got beaten up by some random group of people, and got taken in by, of all people, Naruto!?! Why the hell would we believe you? Do you even realize how insane that makes you sound?" Apparently, Kiba had forgotten that he was speaking to his superior.

"Let me remind you, Genin Inuzuka, that I am your Hokage; I do have slightly more credibility than you, and I saw her condition first hand." That quieted down the brash young Genin quickly. "Now, before I give you all your missions, are you all comfortable with what I just told you?"

"To be completely honest, Tsunade-sama, unless I see her myself, I don't really know what to say to that," Tenten honestly admitted. "I have only really met Hinata once or twice, and she seemed like a nice person. I would really have to wait and reserve judgment for when I actually see her again."

"Yosh! I believe that it would be most un-youthful to judge poor Hinata-san before we have a chance to see her! I will believe that she will be the same person, no matter what has happened to her!"

"That's the spirit, Lee! Let us wait to see just what these hip and happening wings look like before we make any un-youthful conclusions, and if we do draw any mean-spirited conclusions beforehand, let us run 100 laps around the training field on our hands with an Akimichi on our backs as penance!" Gai boasted as he gave his signature nice-guy pose, complete with his blindingly white teeth.

Everyone turned to Neji for his reaction. "I must admit, that was not what I was expecting to hear, but I suspect there is more to it than what you have told. All I have heard was how Hinata betrayed the clan and was some kind of monster. I would like to hear her side before I believe even one word of my clan's actions. I somehow doubt that this purposely happened to her."

"I think I speak for my entire team, Hokage-sama, when I say that we would not think differently of her no matter how much she changes on the outside," Kurenai responded. Both Shino and Kiba nodded in recognition.

"Yeah, she's still our friend and comrade, no matter what happens to her, right Akamaru?" The dog simply barked in response. Shino simply stood there, unfazed.

"I am glad all of you are willing to see things that way. I am unsure how people will react to her, which is why I am asking for the upmost secrecy involving her right now. I do not think I could handle trying to answer too many questions about her right now, since I don't have any answers to give. Therefore, I am assigning your two teams to help her out. Gai," Tsunade began to order as she looked to the remaining members of Team Gai. "I want your team to do some grocery shopping for Naruto and Hinata. Since Hinata will probably be there for a while, I need you to not only shop for her necessities, but for some healthier alternatives for Naruto. Heaven knows that he is the only being I know of that can live off of ramen. While you're at it, find him a cook book so that the boy can learn to do something other than throw water in a pot and boil it. Aside from that, just get what they would need; hygiene products, cleaning supplies, and the like. Since it would look unusual for me to use village funds for this, I will pay for the supplies with my clan's own personal funds, as they are harder to trace and are under my direct control. It will not look suspicious if I pull funds from the Senju accounts, since it is my money and I can do with it what I wish."

"Kurenai, I want you and your team to go and help unpack Hinata's things at Naruto's apartment. I know you might feel more comfortable if Hinata were to stay with you, but I feel trying to move her, at least for now, would be too complicated. Besides, if she is going to stay anywhere, she might as well stay at the last place anyone is going to look for her, if anyone is after her. This scroll," Tsunade then brought forth the scroll that Neji brought to her earlier, "contains all of Hinata's belongings. You will need to unseal her things, but this will be easier to transport."

Tsunade then turned her attention back to the group as a whole. "Because of the concerns for her safety, I am going to have to ask for all of you to keep this as low-key as you can. I would avoid trying to show up around the same time. The less suspicion we have surrounding her whereabouts right now, the better. Gai, since your team will probably take the longest, and I have something that Neji and I will have to go through with Hinata once your team has completed your mission, I will ask that you wait to deliver the supplies you receive until sometime this evening. Kurenai, you can take your things to her this afternoon after I go and give her a medical check-up. Is that clear, all of you?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" was heard from all the shinobi present. With that, Teams Eight and Gai left for town to complete their missions. Tsunade decided that she needed a drink of sake after all of this. _'If I knew that I would have been dealing with a situation like this, I would have contemplated becoming something other than a medical ninja. Even I think some of this crap is weird, and I have the Village Madness and the Hebi-teme as former teammates.'_ Just as she was about to take a swig, she glanced over to Shizune, who seemed to be concerned about something.

"Shizune, is there something wrong?"

Shizune seemed to be contemplating her next words, before speaking. "Um, Tsunade-shishō, aren't we forgetting one of the teams that you needed to inform of the situation?"

"Shizune, what are you-" Tsunade was about to ask what Shizune was talking about, but Tsunade's eyes widened when she realized what, or rather who Shizune was referring to. "Crap! I forgot about Team 7! Shizune, try to find them and bring them to my office, immediately!"

"Hai, shishō!" Shizune replied as she left to find the three members of Team 7.

Tsunade simply leaned back in her chair and sighed. This was shaping up to be one of those days that were to be a pain in the ass.

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Sakura and Sasuke were waiting impatiently for their habitually late sensei to show up on what was now deemed Team 7's bridge. Sakura had once again been shot down by Sasuke for a date and was now focusing on her missing teammate. Neither she nor Sasuke had seen the blond idiot, as she so affectionately called him, since he decided to follow his curiosity like a stupid cat yesterday. Not only did he miss the mission report, he even was late to practice today. She was getting fed up with having to deal with him as a teammate. Besides, Sasuke was way better than any idiot like Naruto. Inside her mind, Inner Sakura was using a Naruto look-alike as a piñata.

Sasuke was becoming irritated that the blond had not shown up yet either. He was eager to prove that he was superior to the dobe. Ever since Naruto brought the Godime Hokage back to the village, it seemed as though the village pariah had begun to catch up with him. Naruto was being trained by a Sannin, learned a technique that his Sharingan couldn't copy, and had essentially become close to the new Hokage. It infuriated the Avenger. How could the dobe be getting that kind of attention? What made him more special?

Before either could continue to stew in their own emotions, Kakashi decided to make his appearance in a poof of smoke. "Yo!"

Sakura pointed an accusing finger towards her cycloptic sensei. "YOU'RE LATE, KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, I was lost on the road of life," Kakashi attempted to pacify his student.

"LIAR!" That however was when Kakashi noticed that there was one voice missing from the usual accusations during their daily greetings. He opened his one visible eye to find that Naruto was missing. Kakashi found that odd, since usually Naruto was there before most people, usually waiting for Sakura. Although, he noticed lately that his team's balance was out of sorts. Sakura had been slightly more aggressive than normal, Naruto seemed to be taking less and less of an interest in Sakura as of late, and Sasuke was mostly gloom-and-doom with some anger and rage when he was sparing with Naruto.

'_Hm, odd. I wonder where Naruto is at today. Did something happen yesterday when he went to investigate that mob?' _thought Kakashi.

"Well, I suppose before we go to the tower for our mission, we should probably see where Naruto is at, right?"

"Hn. The dobe is probably sleeping in, like always," Sasuke finally spoke.

"Yeah, it's not like he actually has done much for the team lately! He's always going off on his own trying to prove his worth to everyone, instead of actually doing what he is supposed to do!" added Sakura. So, with a combination of irritation on Sasuke and Sakura's part and curiosity on Kakashi's part, Team 7 made their way towards Naruto's apartment.

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Naruto and Hinata were currently sitting down to eat at his kitchen table. Well, Naruto was sitting; Hinata's wings made being able to sit down in a chair particularly difficult, so she opted to stand. So far, things had been quite interesting. Due to the size of the wings, even something as simple as walking around Naruto's apartment was slightly difficult. In order to even get through the door properly-Naruto had to use his balcony yesterday in order to get her into his apartment to begin with-Hinata had to wrap her wings around herself while Naruto grabbed her hand and pretty much led her to the living room. When she attempted to open them, she unwillingly knocked a few things off of the wall. Thankfully, Naruto was a little more understanding than she thought and simply laughed it off. As they were finishing their meal, there came a knock on the front door. Hinata looked a little worried, but Naruto tried to reassure her that everything would be fine.

"Don't worry, Hinata! I'm sure it's just Baa-chan coming in to check up on you!" Naruto said. As he opened the door, however, he was met by none other than his own team, with an irate Sakura out front looking ready to kill Naruto. Sasuke seemed to be in the back feigning interest, while Kakashi had his standard Icha-Icha book out.

"Baka! What are you doing-"Sakura began, before she noticed Hinata standing inside his apartment with what appeared to be wings sprouting out of her back. "AAAH! What in Kami-sama's name is this!?!" Sakura exclaimed as she pointed accusingly at Hinata. "What kind of freak are you?" Sakura continued into the apartment, brushing past Naruto to try and figure out what was going on.

Sasuke, apparently wanting to see what his pink-haired teammate was screaming about, looked over to where she was apparently verbally assaulting someone, only to see Hinata, who by now was slinking down and attempting to hide. His look was somewhat of a cross between bewilderment, disgust, and an unusual sense of longing. "Just what the hell are you? No doubt you're not human, seeing as how _typical _human beings don't have wings growing out of their back…"

Naruto had tuned out his team by now, not even paying attention to the insults that Sakura flung at the former Hyūga. Forget angry; Naruto was downright livid. His teammates had burst into _his _apartment, insulted _his _friend, and were now making Hinata even more uncomfortable. He looked over to Hinata, only to see her on the verge of tears practically begging for Sakura to stop berating her on her appearance. He didn't know what it was, but he was very protective of her right now. Maybe it was because she was now an outcast like him, or maybe it was because he just didn't like to see his friend cry, but either way he was going to end this. Teammates or not, _no one_ was cruel to Naruto's friends if he could help it. Finally, Naruto couldn't take it anymore and spoke in a voice loud enough to hear and chilled enough to even send a shiver up Sasuke's spine.

"Get. Out. Now." Now it was everyone else's turn to be shocked. Since when was Naruto such an angry person? Hell, since when did he go around making _demands _of anyone?

"Huh?" was the only intelligent response Sakura could give.

"You heard me, Sakura." Everyone caught the missing –chan suffix after her name and the increasing volume of his tone. "You too, Sasuke-teme. Get out, get out NOW!I don't care why you are here, I don't give a rat's ass why you think what you do about Hinata there, but I will be damned if I am going to sit here while you mistreat her in _my _home! You want answers? Go talk to Baa-chan about it! Until then, you are no longer welcome here, either one of you! You understand me? GET OUT!"

Not wanting to deal with an angry Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura both beat a hasty retreat out the door past Kakashi, but not before Sasuke turned around for one last comment. "Well, I suppose freaks should stick together." With that, Sasuke left before Naruto could lose his temper. Naruto then turned towards his sensei and gave him a glare that would have had Kabuto taking a step back in fear. Kakashi simply waved him off. "Don't worry, Naruto, Hinata-san, your secret is safe with me. I better go and track those two down before they try anything else. Oh and Hinata," Kakashi added, with the young girl looking towards the Jōnin. "I think they look good on you. I have seen plenty of unusual things in my life, so don't worry about me thinking any less of you. Ja ne!" With that, Kakashi left to find his two other students.

Naruto slammed the door behind him before walking over and crouching near Hinata. "Hey, are you alright?" He got his answer in the form of Hinata practically leaping into his arms and holding on to him for dear life while crying her little heart out. Naruto tried to comfort her as best as he could as he led her back towards his bedroom so she could lie down for a while. That morning had obviously taken a lot out of her, and hearing the cruel words that Sasuke, and to a greater extent Sakura, had said had probably broken her already fragile heart. Naruto didn't know where all of this anger and frustration was coming from, but it was clear that he wanted nothing to do with anyone or anything that was about to treat Hinata like a second-class citizen. For the rest of that morning, Naruto simply let Hinata cry and cling to him, like he knew a good friend should. He stood by the promise he made last night. He would not let anything turn him away from her.

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**Authors Notes: I know it's been a while, but I have had a small bit of writer's block lately. That kinda happens when you have to read things like the **_**Odyssey**_** and write papers on the First Amendment. Now, for Naruto's apartment, I have been attempting to describe it based on a layout I found at the fallowing site: [./] without the brackets of course. If I did a horrid job in doing so, well so be it. I also attempted to make things a little more realistic with the wings, but things will be explained on how she will be able to improve once I get to describing her Kekkei Genkai.**

**Now, I know some people are thinking Hiashi's motives are a bit off-kilter in this, but I want to reiterate this point: the Hyūga in this fic are not the ones you see in canon. They are more like the Uchiha, but are more concerned with the "purity" and the "strength" of the clan and the Byakugan in this than they are in canon. Hiashi, in a sense, is a villain because he is doing what Madara tried to do at the beginning of the Hidden Leaf Village: he is placing the needs of the clan over the needs of the village. The hypocrisy may sound weird, but like I said, this is a different Hiashi than we see in canon. With that in mind, don't expect the Hyūga clan to stay within the confines of the law forever. They will be butting heads with Konoha, and it will cause problems later.**

**I also know that it may sound weird for a crowd to attack Hinata, seeing as how she was the heiress. Well, let me remind the readers that people **_**fear **_**what they don't understand. Yes, the civilians live in a ninja village, but a person sprouting wings like and owl? Even that is pushing things a little. Besides, I would question that reasoning then if they can't tell the difference between Naruto and the Fox, but are willing to accept Hinata with wings. Yes, part of the reason that the clan were looking for her was that she didn't have the Caged Bird Seal on her, but it is not the only reason. They don't want her around anymore and they don't want to risk the Byakugan being spread to another clan.**

**Another issue I want to nip in the butt right now is the progression of Naruto's feelings. Yes, things are going to be a little quicker than, say, in **_**For the Sake of One, **_**but don't expect anyone walking towards the aisle anytime soon. In my mind, I don't buy the whole "Naruto-doesn't-know-what-love-is" explanation that most authors use. In my mind, I think it is more like this; Naruto knows what love is, but he doesn't know about the different **_**kinds **_**of love. Naruto right now could probably say he loves Hinata; then again, he also loves Iruka, Ayame, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and the village. Having such little social interaction with others until later in his life probably make Naruto socially awkward and makes it more difficult to differentiate between a crush, sibling love, unconditional love, ect. It doesn't mean that he doesn't know what love is; it is just that trying to separate between the different kinds is a foreign concept to him. If you don't agree, well too bad.**

**I tried to be somewhat realistic with the responses in this chapter. I figured that Gai and Lee wouldn't have any problems with hearing about Hinata since **_**nothing **_**seems to bother those guys. Tenten isn't really seen socializing with anyone outside her team, so I had her stay more neutral than the others, Team 8 are her friends so I wouldn't expect a harsh reaction from them, and Kakashi would more than likely not care. I may not buy the civilians simply buying into the whole "weird ninjas" explanation, but some of the more experienced shinobi probably wouldn't be bothered. As for Sakura and Sasuke, well I already said they are not getting much love in this fic, so don't expect much on their end. On the flip side of that coin, I am trying to make Neji into a good person; it does seem implied that his relationship with Hinata improves after the Chūnin Exams, so that would only make sense.**

**As always, feel free to review. I do not need flames from people that feel this is stupid, unrealistic, ect. This is not a fic for those looking for a canon retelling. I will be doing things that will probably not make much sense, so do not complain when things don't fallow the behavior of canon. Suggestions on how to improve my fic are fine, as long as you can give justification that works. Keep in mind that this is AU and will more than likely not follow canon to a huge degree. Granted, when we read something, we have to take into account that the typical laws that apply don't work always, so sometimes we have to abandon what we think we know about a series and just accept what the writer has done. So, until next time, Ja ne!**

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_**Definitions:**_

_**Yosh: Exclamation meaning Yes, All Right, or Okay**_

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Please Read and Review.


	4. Chapter 4: Guardian's Wings Explained

Guardian's Wings

Chapter 4: Guardian's Wings Explained

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, there would be more focus on the drama than what is currently seen.**_

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After his unexpected meeting with Naruto and Hinata, Kakashi had managed to track down his wayward students, with the help of Shizune who had finally caught up with the remainder of Team 7. Shizune had explained what she knew about the situation and assisted Kakashi in subduing his students before they could get too far out of hand. Needless to say, the news about the shy kunoichi was a bit of a shock to Kakashi. Yes, he would admit that he was a bit shocked at Hinata's sudden changes, but considering his occupation, he wasn't near as shocked as he had figured he would be. After all, when you have been a shinobi for almost twenty years, you tend to get numb to the peculiarities of the world.

Deciding that he needed to have a one-on-one private conversation with his students and Shizune, Kakashi led Sakura and Sasuke to his apartment for some privacy. The apartment was nothing fancy; then again, most shinobi apartments were not adorned with much, especially those that were Jōnin or above. After all, when you spend the vast majority of your time outside of the village and you only use your residence to sleep in ninety percent of the time, why would you worry about such things as decorations or the like? After making sure to close the door behind him and help Shizune put up some privacy seals, Kakashi turned towards Sakura and Sasuke with a scolding look adorning his usually board disposition.

"OK, do either of you mind telling me just what the hell all of that was about?" Kakashi began. "First off, I am ashamed at both of you for prying into someone else's business. Sakura, you should not have barged into Naruto's home uninvited. Whether or not you like it or not, it was _his _apartment, and even if you are teammates, there are still places that are private to even your team. I am sure you would not have appreciated it if we came barging into your home uninvited. Sasuke, whether or not you wish to acknowledge it, you are guilty of the same thing. Both of you disappointed me today."

"But sensei, were we not supposed to get the dobe out of his house? He was cutting into our training time, and we did waste time in trying to get him out. That was the whole reason we dragged our collective asses to his apartment to begin with…" Sasuke demanded. He didn't really see where they were in the wrong. If Naruto was hiding something, then they had a right as his teammates to know what was going on.

"As true as that may be, Sasuke, everyone has a private space. The two of you violated that. Not only that, you insulted a guest-"

"You mean freak," Sakura corrected him, but was silenced when Kakashi gave her a death glare.

"At any rate, you insulted a fellow comrade of the Leaf and brought a young woman who probably does not know what is going on with her right now to tears for something that she knows nothing about."

"The two of you also brought unwanted attention to Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan with your little outburst," Shizune lectured. "I was sent by Tsunade-shishō to inform all three of you that Naruto was going to be on an extended solo mission in the village for a while, but apparently you are not as patient as an outstanding shinobi should be. Now, as for what you saw, Lady Tsunade is already aware of the situation, and has declared it top secret until she says otherwise. That means that the two of you cannot tell anyone about what you just saw, are we perfectly clear?"

"But, why? Shouldn't we-"

"No, Sakura. As you both know, being a shinobi often means following direct orders and keeping secrets for your superior officers. If Tsunade-sama feels that it will be important for us to tell people, she will tell us. Until then, we are to keep our mouths shut, understood? I don't think I need to tell either of you the consequences of revealing top secret information to anyone, correct? Because I will make sure that your punishments are carried out in full," Kakashi finished. He wanted to make a point. It was obvious now that Tsunade wanted to keep things hush-hush until there was more information to go around. The last thing that was needed right now was two Genin blabbing about something that was top secret. Receiving reluctant and begrudging nods from Sakura and Sasuke, Kakashi and Shizune decided to escort the two Genin to their homes, in the hopes of reducing the risk of exposure to temptation.

* * *

Tsunade had a difficult day after rushing over to Naruto's apartment. When she first attempted to get in, Naruto was adamant about not letting her in. It wasn't until he actually recognized her that he let her in. Apparently, Naruto's team had already been over to check on their teammate and found out about Hinata. Naruto had told her everything that had transpired between his team and sufficient to say, Tsunade was not happy. She guessed that Shizune had not caught up to them in time, but she was still livid with how his team treated the winged kunoichi. After calming down somewhat, she went in to check up on Hinata. Hinata was a wreck emotionally. Her nerves had been frayed and she had the remnants of tears on her face still. Tsunade reasoned that hearing such cruel taunts had damaged her already fragile psyche. After giving her a clean bill of health, Tsunade decided to stick around and wait until the teams she sent out arrived, since Naruto was now unusually on edge and she didn't want to risk the possibility that he might attack the next people to come knocking on his door.

The first team to arrive was Team Eight. As expected, they were shocked at Hinata's new appearance, but were not intimidated. Shino, being his normally stoic self, simply shrugged it off as another thing that made Hinata unique. Kiba, being the big brother figure of the team, joked that the addition of the wings made Hinata look like an oversized owl. That comment elicited a giggle out of Hinata, but earned a fist to the head courtesy of Shino and Naruto, though whether the giggle was caused by the joke Kiba told or the slapstick comedy no one was completely sure.

Kurenai, being the mother figure in Hinata's life, performed the simplest of actions; she gave Hinata a hug, although it was a little more difficult now with the wings blocking things. Hinata simply cried into her sensei's uniform, relieving some of her tension. Everyone knew that this was probably something that Hinata desperately needed; to be reassured that there were people out there that still cared for her despite the fact that she now was different from everyone else even more so than ever.

Naruto was relieved that her team had been so willing to accept her; he was still incredibly protective of her, though for what reason he still had no clue. But, after what happened with Naruto's own team, he didn't want to take any chances. Speaking of his team, Naruto began to wonder just when Hinata became more important than his team. He knew that he shouldn't have gotten that angry with them, but lately everyone had seemed to have been on a short fuse. Sasuke was being even more of a pain than usual, and he had even stopped thinking as much about the pink-haired female than normal. Perhaps he was simply growing out of a phase, but he was starting to see the imperfections of his impromptu family. For a while, he had thought of Team Seven like a dysfunctional family. But, after his encounter with the Akatsuki members Itachi Uchiha, the elder brother of Sasuke, and Kisame Hoshigaki, otherwise known as the Monster of the Hidden Mist, Naruto had begun to see Sasuke for the dark individual that he was and began to see Sakura as a painful reminder of just how harsh people can be to the odd and unusual.

* * *

After trying to find places for Hinata's things – this took a little while since they had to find a place for both Hinata and Naruto's belongings – the remainder of Team Eight took their leave and headed home, promising to try and visit Hinata when they could. About two hours after they left, Team Gai appeared at Naruto's doorstep. As expected, Naruto was apprehensive about letting them see Hinata, but Tsunade persuaded him that it would not hurt. After helping to put away the groceries that Gai and his team had brought, Neji asked to see his cousin. So, the four member squad was led to the bedroom where Hinata was currently residing, or hiding depending on your point of view.

Lee and Gai's reaction was instantaneous; they both took one look at Hinata and flashed a nice-guy pose. They then began to bust into a dialogue about how Hinata was stunning and that the wings only enhanced her youthfulness. Everyone sweat-dropped at this; it was sort of expected that people who were as suspiciously unstable as Gai and Lee were would have no problem looking at Hinata and not seeing anything wrong with her. They even offered to let her use their dojo when she was able to in order to get used to her new features. Their dojo had a high ceiling in order to help with training with the Gōken taijutsu style, which involved techniques that needed a fair amount of height in order to achieve maximum efficiency.

Tenten seemed apprehensive at first and approached the girl cautiously. She wasn't necessarily afraid of Hinata; from what she could tell, outside of the wings nothing else had physically changed about her. That being said, she didn't know how much her personality had changed due to this recent development. Deciding to simply let things be what they would be, Tenten tried to greet her fellow Genin kunoichi.

"So…um, how is it going, Hinata-san?" Tenten asked with caution.

Hinata gave a nervous analytical look to Tenten. Hinata could tell that Tenten was apprehensive about something, but what she could not decide readily. Hinata decided to simply be herself and hope that Tenten would be relieved of her nervous tension. "I-i-I'm fine, Tenten-san. H-how are you?"

Tenten gave an inward sigh. She may not have known Hinata for very long, but she knew that she was usually a shy and nervous individual. She felt relieved that this experience had still made Hinata the same person, just with a few changes. She decided to apologize for her behavior though. "Sorry about that, Hinata. I just wasn't expecting this and I just wanted to make sure you were still, you know, you." Hinata nodded at that. At least the bun-haired brunette had been honest with her.

Finally came Neji. He still was wearing the typical stoic expression of a Hyūga. He walked over to where Hinata was sitting. Naruto made a move to go to her after seeing that she was becoming more and more nervous of her cousin, but Tsunade stopped him. She gave him a look that told him to trust her judgment, and Naruto reluctantly agreed, although he was still nervous about what he might do to her, considering the last time he had seen them interact was when he and Neji had fought during the Chūnin Exams and considering that he was from the very clan that kicked Hinata out in the first place.

Neji approached his cousin, taking in her appearance. The wings he saw reminded him of the words that she had said to him during the Chūnin Exams about how she could see how he was struggling with what he thought at the time was his destiny. It was as if someone was telling him now that his preaching about fate and destiny was nothing compared to what was in store for Hinata. Had he seen what he was seeing right now a few months ago, he might have acted like the rest of his clansmen and simply have shown nothing but hatred for her. Now, he was could see just how scared Hinata was, and for once it made him feel villainous instead of justified. He knelt down beside Hinata and looked her straight in the eye. He could see the conflicting emotions in her eyes and could see that she was silently begging for her not to reject her like the rest of her kin.

"Hinata-sama," Neji began. "I am not going to even pretend that I know of the kind of suffering that you are going through, but rest assured that, while you may not have ties to the clan any longer, you are still my cousin in blood, and blood is still thicker than water." He finished with a small grin.

Hinata looked to her cousin with a relieved look before stuttering out a small 'thank-you.' She knew of the beliefs in her clan concerning other Kekkei Genkai, so she was afraid that her cousin might be in the same mindset as the rest of her family. She felt comforted that there was at least one person in her old family that still cared about her and didn't mind what she had become. She gave Neji a hug – something that no one was quite expecting – and to everyone's surprise, he returned the gesture. After making fun of Mr. Ice about his "bleeding heart" and how he was going soft, the rest of Team Gai left, saying that they would keep their mouths shut. None of the individuals exiting the apartment noticed the grey eyes that seemed to disappear into the evening.

* * *

A branch member entered the chambers to give his report to Hiashi and the rest of the elders on the Hyūga council. The council's job was to advise the current head of the clan when it came to running the family and always consisted of the same number of members so that the clan head would always have the last say in what went on inside of the clan. The council consisted of four men and four women.

Moe Hyūga was a relatively young woman – she was about in her late forties when it came to age - who was usually outvoted on the council for her progressive views of the family. The views she held made her a bit of an outcast within the clan. Moe was one of the few people that held Hinata in high regard, mostly due to her being an outcast like her. Moe was strong in nature, but nonviolent by choice.

Kotone, Moe's sister by marriage, was seen as the idealist in the family; she very rarely found any problems within the family and simply went with what everyone else said to avoid trouble. She did not really care for Hinata one way or the other; as long as everyone got along fine, she could care less.

Yui was the eldest female member of the council and had seen the clan grow through several generations. She had lived through the Second and Third Great Shinobi World Wars and, much like the late Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been looking forward to retiring into her golden years without much difficulty before this incident with Hinata occurred. That left her to spite the young girl for her own petty reasons as well as for her newly founded abilities.

Saki was the last member of the female side of the council. She had been injured on a mission during the four year reign of the Yondaime Hokage, and had been given a seat on the council for her service to her village. She was still strong for her age and had held her own during the Sound Invasion to defend her clan's home. She might not have been able to be on active duty as a ninja, but she could still fight with the best of them. She was against Hinata simply because she didn't live up to the standards of the rest of the clan.

Miki was by far the eldest member of the male side of the council and was the one who proposed the idea to send Hizashi, Hiashi's twin brother, to Kumogakure no Sato as reparation for killing their ninja during the peace talks between the two villages a decade earlier. He would stop at nothing to keep the Hyūga clan alive, even if it meant doing things that were not necessarily ethical. To him, he would not be above simply eliminating Hinata, since she was seen as a threat.

Norio, as his name suggested, was a man of principals. Granted, his principals centered on the power of the clan, but he considered that to be trivial when he knew that his clan was now the most powerful in the village. He hated the pacifist nature that Hinata possessed; her lack of a backbone made him disregard her as nothing more than a mistake, and her new appendages seemed to prove his theory.

Just as Moe was considered an outlier to the female part of the council, Hiromasa was the odd ball out in the male side of the council. It didn't help that Moe was his wife of twenty years. He found some of the Hyūga ideals outdated and downright horrid. He vehemently opposed the use of the seal used on the Branch House and felt that there was more to being a leader than being the strongest or the purest. If things were run the way he wanted to have things run, there would not be a separation of the houses or a need to have members of the same family hate each other for something beyond their control.

Fuyu was the last member of the male side of the council. Of all the Hyūga in the clan, he was considered the master of the emotionless Noh-like mask that everyone had come to expect from the clan. It was rumored that he ate, bathed, trained and even slept with the same expression on his face, leading some to believe that he actually had his face frozen like that. The fact that Hinata had never been able to sustain a mask such as that had peeved the man and made him believe that Hinata should have been branded and banished long ago.

As the branch member left, Hiashi decided to start the meeting. "So, it may be that we have found Hinata after all. Of course, having that whore of a Kage near her makes things more difficult now."

Norio gave Hiashi a questioning look. "So? What is to stop us? All we would have to do is sneak in, kill her and that idiot that made a mockery of us, and leave before anyone else finds out. Or, at the very least we could brand her and then kill her from a distance before anyone could find out!"

Fuyu gave Norio a harsh stare. "You fool! If we do that, they will know that it is us that did it. While I may not like it, as long as she is under that brat's protection, she is under the protection of the Hokage as well. If we strike now, we will cause an uproar that we don't want to deal with just yet."

"I agree," Saki stated. "What we need to do is to simply wait to catch her alone, and then we can do away with that little mistake."

"But, wouldn't that be counterproductive? I mean, she is already out of our hands, so what more harm can Hinata do to us?" Moe asked, with her husband agreeing.

"Don't you fools get it? If we allow her to live, not only do we run the risk that someone will obtain the Byakugan and learn its secrets, we also run the risk of her having offspring later on and intermixing with us, further weakening our dōjutsu! There is simply too much at stake to let her live! She is a liability!" Miki shouted.

"Agreed. So, I propose a solution. We wait until we can have an opportunity to catch her when she is unguarded, and then we strike," Hiashi proposed.

"And if anyone gets in the way?" Saki and Yui asked.

"Simple. Anyone that gets in the way of our business will be eliminated," Hiashi finished with a scowl. No one was going to stop them from fixing this mistake.

* * *

Tsunade and Neji sat at the kitchen table with Naruto and Hinata after Gai and the rest of Neji's team left. When it was confirmed that they were alone, Tsunade pulled out a black file that had Hinata's name on it.

"Hinata, from what Neji here has told me, this file belongs to you, as it has a blood seal on it that only you can open. This file may contain information explaining what is going on, so I thought you might want to open it and find out if there is more about your wings."

Hinata nodded and proceeded to prick her thumb so as to draw enough blood for the seal to activate. Sure enough, when she dropped the blood on the seal and added chakra, the seal came undone and opened for her. Inside was an envelope, a diary that had the initials "S.H." on it, and some photos and other miscellaneous items that Hinata was sure that were destroyed when her mother died. Not knowing exactly where to start, Hinata decided to go with the envelope. Inside was a letter, which Hinata began to read.

* * *

_My dearest Hinata-chan:_

_If you are reading this letter, it means that I am no longer with you. For that, I am so sorry. I tried to keep my secret for as long as I could, but I imagine that I will not be able to do so for long. That is why I am writing this letter to you now, in the hopes that you will forgive me for leaving you and your sister. This letter is being written as you read this with the knowledge that you might have inherited more than one Kekkei Genkai. Your father gave you the Byakugan; if my hunches are correct, you may have inherited my Kekkei Genkai as well. _

_It is called the Guardian's Wings. It is not a very well known bloodline, and I apparently was the last member of the clan from which it came from. From what I know, there are no other members of that clan, and the name of the clan was lost to the annals of history. I know of a few things about the Guardian's Wings that you should be aware of._

_First, the awakening process, if done right, should be relatively painless. When you reach the age of fifteen or so, there will feel a pulse of energy coming off of your back. That is the seal that I have placed on you that only reveals itself if you apply chakra directly to the seal. That seal is what keeps your Kekkei Genkai from activating too early. The chakra that is in the seal is designed so that you do not have to worry about having your energy drained to accelerate your growth, although you will still need rest in order to let your body adjust to the additions that your bloodline will have. Your body will need time to properly adjust, so that is why it takes so long for the seal to activate. If chakra is directly applied too early in too much of a quantity, however, not only will it be more painful for you, but you will be more drained and the entire process will be accelerated. This will mean that you will awaken your bloodline too fast and it will be painful._

_Second, as you have probably seen, you grow a pair of wings. These are for more than just decoration; you can actually use these to fly. Granted, it may take a while for you to be able to learn how to fly, but I am confident that you will find a way. You can also harden the wings into a protective shield for you, but your wings will then become too heavy for you to fly with. That will matter little, however, since you most likely will only use this in a situation where you need to fight in close. The wings also have feathers similar in design to an owl. This is so that you will be silent in flight. A rather unique feature, wouldn't you say? You will also develop slits in your back that will allow your wings to fold into your body so that you don't stick out in a crowd. Luckily, the slits can close so well that anyone feeling you back will not be able to tell they are there._

_Finally, the Guardian's Wings grant the user an affinity to Wind. As you may already know, there are five primary elements in addition to normal chakra: Earth, Fire, Lightning, Water, and Wind. With this bloodline, you will have a Wind element in addition to whatever element you were born with, which you can then use to create new elements. For instance, if you had an affinity to Earth and you had this bloodline, you could most likely combine Wind and Earth to create the Dust Release._

_There is so much that I wish I could tell you and be able to do with you, Hinata. I know in my heart that you will make me proud. I bet you already have. I am not sure if I will be there for you, however, because of the bigotry of the Hyūga clan. They will see your wings as an abomination. Know that you have worth in my eyes, my daughter, and that I will always love you, even in death. Let no one tell you that you are not worth anything; life, in any form, deserves a chance. You are kind and loving, my daughter, which are going to make you into a wonderful person, no matter what you do in life. Tell your sister that I love her and that I wish that I could have stayed in order for her to have a mother like she should have had. Please know that I did not mean to cause either of you any sort of pain. My only wish for you now is to embrace who you are. You will always be my daughters and I will always love you for that._

_With more love than you can ever imagine,_

_Sango Hyūga_

_PS: One last piece of motherly advice: if you find someone to love, tell them. If they are going to reject you, then it is their loss. You will find that the people that are worth your time are the people who see you for you, not for the title or for the family name or for the blood that flows through your veins._

_

* * *

_

Hinata put the letter down and cried into Naruto's shoulder. She wanted so badly to see her mother and tell her that she forgave her, but she knew that was impossible now. Reading that letter had brought forth so many emotions for the young woman that she wasn't sure what to feel anymore. Naruto, for his part, was confused. Neji seemed to have a look of frustration on his face while Tsunade seemed to be in deep thought.

"So, why is it that the Hyūga don't like other Kekkei Genkai? I mean, wouldn't having another bloodline make you guys more powerful or something?" he asked.

It was Neji who answered Naruto's question. "If the Hyūga solely valued power like the Uchiha did, that might be the case. However, in my clan, it is purity of blood that is considered paramount. Ever since a branch member of the clan was born with the bloodline that would later become the Sharingan – that member was later banished for defiling the Byakugan with his mutation – the Hyūga have feared that other bloodlines could create a mutation like the Sharingan that could lead to tainting the Byakugan. That is why it is rare for a Hyūga to marry someone from another clan; the fear of what could happen to the Byakugan is simply too great."

"What? That's so stupid! That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard of!"

"You are not the only one that thinks so, Naruto," Neji stated. "Many of us feel that the fear of tainting the Byakugan is nothing more than the fears of an older generation that dislikes change. But, the stigma still stands. Unfortunately, this now makes things more difficult for Hinata-sama."

"What do you mean, Neji?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, since Hinata does not have the seal on her forehead, I can assume that the clan was fairly quick in Hinata-sama's banishment. If they realize that she is still alive, they will probably not stop until they succeed in eliminating Hinata-sama. They will not simply let her walk away with the Byakugan even if it is tainted. In the past, if someone was born with another ability or bloodline other than the Byakugan, that person's parents were killed and every child would be eliminated so as to not ruin the clan's reputation." His eyes then widened in surprise. "If that is the case, they may mean that Hanabi-sama could also be at risk if she possibly inherited this bloodline as well!"

Hinata's eyes flashed open in surprise. She had forgotten all about Hanabi! If she had this bloodline as well, her life could be in danger! This whole situation felt like it was all Hinata's fault. If she had not sprouted these wings, none of this would have ever happened! She only hoped that her sister would be spared and not be forced to go through what she had to go through.

This was bad in Tsunade's mind. If all of this was accurate, this meant not only problems for Hinata in the very near future when it came to her former clan, but also with the council. No doubt that there would be those that would want to turn Hinata into breeding stock like Kumo wanted to do ten years ago in order to make a group of flying ninjas. Between that and the threat to Hanabi, things were looking to get rather difficult for a while.

Before anyone else could panic, Naruto decided to voice his thoughts. "I won't let that happen." Everyone turned to look at him. "I won't let them do that to Hinata. So what if she has the Guardian's Wings and the Byakugan? So what if she isn't completely untainted like they want? I will not let them hurt her, no matter what! I will protect her with my life and find a way to help her sister if she awakens the Guardian's Wings! Those bastards won't lay a hand on her! I promise that on my dream to be Hokage! Dattebayo!"

Hinata felt relieved and flushed scarlet at his declaration. She felt so important to Naruto if he was willing to risk so much for her. It was almost as if he actually cared about her as more than a friend.

Neji couldn't help but smirk. '_Leave it to Naruto to bite off more than he can chew."_

Tsunade decided to speak up. "That is all well and good, Naruto, but I have to ask if you think that you will be able to handle this? We are talking about the Hyūga clan here, and while they may not legally have any power over Hinata, I would not put it past them to try something if the opportunity presented itself…"

"Don't worry, Baa-chan! I can handle it!"

Tsunade smiled. "Alright, but I am going to have you have help. We will keep the circle small, and only invite in those we completely trust. We will vary the schedules up so no one suspects anything and make sure that you will be able to protect her. We will probably have Kurenai and her team here once in a while to make sure that you are all fine." She then turned to Neji. "In the meantime, Neji, I would like for you to keep me as up to date as you can about the Hyūga if at all possible. You might also want to make sure that you keep an eye on Hanabi. If she shows signs of this bloodline, we may have to take her out of Hyūga custody to keep her safe."

After finalizing their plans, the Hokage and Neji left Hinata and Naruto to clean up the apartment before trailing off to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Notes: So we have another chapter of **_**Guardian's Wings**_** done. I apologize for the long update, but another case of writer's block and having to write three papers for three different classes between now and the end of the year has zapped my creativity. Hopefully, now that I am on the homeward stretch, I can get my creative juices flowing. I appreciate how patient all of you are with my writing schedule, since real life does have to take precedence over writing unfortunately…**

**As you can see, Raw666, I did not leave Team 7 completely to their own devices. Frankly, I felt that leaving the chapter off with their little talk would have been ending the chapter weird, so that is why I placed it at the beginning here. That being said, at this point, I have plans for them and punishing them unfortunately does not fit into it. Let's just say that Karma is going to screw them over badly…**

**I hope I kept things somewhat in character for everyone's reactions. The only one I will not budge on is Neji, since I am trying to make him a good guy in this fic. Hopefully, I am doing a good job of that so far. As for the elders, I just gave them names so that I wasn't calling them by "One elder" this and "Another elder" that. Personally, it sounds tacky to not give them names.**

**As for the Guardian's Wings themselves, I plan on having an "upgraded" version of them in the Shippuden timeline, but for now I wanted to keep things relatively simple. If you didn't understand the thing about the seal, basically the seal is designed to keep the wings inside the body until they are developed enough to allow for the wings to be awakened. The chakra stored in the seal is designed to help compensate for the chakra that the body would need to help develop the wings. Because Hinata's seal was activated too early, the body sped up the wing's process and forced the wings out before they were developed normally. Hence, the pain that she felt when her wings were growing at an accelerated rate. The fact that she is tired is due to her body trying to compensate for the new additions to her body.**

**Now, I have a challenge on my profile that I would like for you the readers to check out. It is under the title of Notgonnasay09's Challenge: Naruto of the Talismans. If you are interested in taking the challenge or have questions, feel free to PM me. Also, I have another one shot up called **_**An Unexpected Savior. **_**If you want, feel free to check it out. Well, until next time, Ja Ne.**

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_**Definitions:**_

_**Gōken: Stong Fist**_

_**Kumogakure no Sato: Village Hidden in the Clouds**_

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Please Read and Review.


	5. Chapter 5: Secret of the Outcast

Guardian's Wings

Chapter 5: Secret of the Outcast

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, there would be stick drawings instead of the artwork we do see.**_

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**_

It had been one week since Hinata moved in with Naruto, and having Hinata get used to her new wings was progressing fairly well. Thankfully, one week was all it took for her body to fully get used to her new wings. Her chakra system was fully adjusted to accommodate for the added appendages and the flaps that were created to allow her wings to store were finally developed enough to allow Hinata to fold her wings in, much to her relief. Kurenai offered Hinata lodging with her now that she could hide her wings, but Hinata explained in private that she wanted to tell Naruto how she felt about him, and the only way she felt she would have the courage to do that would be if she continued to get to know Naruto, which she could do the best if she stayed with him. Kurenai reluctantly agreed with Hinata's decision to stay with Naruto, but Kurenai told Hinata that she could come and talk to her anytime if she wanted to have someone to talk to that had two x-chromosomes.

As soon as she was able, Hinata began to try and integrate back into society. Some of her clothes, mostly her shirts, had been modified to allow access to her wings, but she still managed to cover herself with a jacket so as not to feel too exposed. The reaction from the villagers when they first saw the former heiress with the village pariah was mixed; a few individuals seemed to give angry looks towards her – a few Naruto recognized as some members of the group that harassed her when he found her – some showed distain for someone like her hanging out with the "demon," although they never voiced their opinions out of fear of retaliation, and some simply raised an eyebrow, seeing as how the former heiress had not been seen in a week. No one had yet to hear of her banishment from the clan, mostly due to the Hyūga being a clan known for keeping family matters within the walls of the compound. For the most part, many of the villagers ignored her; it was not their business who she hung out with, so it was not their responsibility.

One of the first things Hinata did after being house-bound for so long was to train with the added appendages of her new bloodline. True to their word, Lee and Gai opened their dojo for her to allow Hinata to get used to her new wings. Thankfully, Naruto had been with her to make her less nervous around town and with others as well as to encourage her to try her best. It took two days of falling on her butt and nearly landing on her head – she didn't thanks to Naruto catching her at the last moment – but she was able to fly as well as any bird in the sky. Like the letter her mother had written had said, the feathers flapped silently, allowing her to fly silently through the sky. She was even able to do some acrobatics in the air, much to her growing pleasure and excitement. Every time she lifted herself in the air, she felt exhilarated.

In addition to a crash course in flying, Hinata began a stage of training usually reserved for chūnin level ninja or higher, but not impossible for genin to attempt: elemental training. Kurenai tested Hinata, and found out that Hinata had two affinities. The paper Hinata used to test her affinities split in half before crumpling, signaling that Hinata had an affinity to Wind and to Lightning. Since no one had ever had those two affinities at the same time before, they decided to wait to try and combine the elements, but tentatively called the combination of Wind and Lighting, the "Hurricane Release." As both Lightning and Wind were rather rare elements, it was decided to ask for outside help for Hinata. There was only one known person in the village that had a Wind affinity – that person being Asuma Sarutobi – so it was decided to ask for help from Sunagakure no Sato, more specifically from Temari and Gaara no Sabaku. Konoha received word that Temari and Gaara, as well as their brother Kankuro, would be able to help, but would have to deal with some business in Suna first, as their village was still in need of reorganizing itself after the bodies of the fourth Kazekage were found. Until then, Hinata had to deal with Asuma and Team Ten in Gai's dojo helping her with her new abilities. They decided to wait on the Lightning training until she mastered wind first.

At first, Hinata was curious as to why Team Ten was with Asuma, but she realized that they probably didn't have anyone else right now to take over as team leader if Asuma were to be forced to help her somewhat. After all, with the shortage of available shinobi right now, Konoha needed all the help they could get. One could not just assign a ninja like Asuma at random and not expect repercussions. So, she was forced to show Shikamaru, Chōji and Ino her new additions. Ino was shocked and was about ready to faint, but that was more out of awe than out of fear. Chōji thought Hinata looked stunning, which was something since the rotund ninja rarely commented on anything other than food. The most expecting answer came from Shikamaru; he dismissed the entire thing as "troublesome." That was his way of saying that he supported people, but he was just too lazy to come up with anything good to say.

Overall, things were looking fairly good for young Hinata. However, she was about to be confronted with one of the hardest kept secrets in Konoha.

* * *

The date was October 10th. Hinata had woken up to an empty bedroom, but before she could panic, she heard the tell-tale signs of a kettle on the stove, signaling that Naruto was cooking breakfast. Hinata got out of bed, slipped on some casual clothing – there was no training today due to the fact that the date was considered a day of mourning – and went out into the kitchen. She saw Naruto over a kitchen top making oyakodon, which consists of simmered chicken, eggs, and onions on white rice. Hinata reminded herself to thank Lady Tsunade for the cookbook she had someone pick up for Naruto, otherwise it would be ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Naruto, meanwhile, had been awake for a few hours now. Ordinarily, he didn't bother to get out of bed on this date until much later unless he had a mission or training. For most everyone in Konoha, this was a day of mourning. Of course Naruto knew that today was also his birthday, but he never really did feel like celebrating it; celebrating would basically be spitting on the tragedy that happened. True, most people ignored him, but he did have two instances of rather violent behavior on his birthday. On his fourth birthday, some kids in the orphanage gathered a group together to play some rather violent games with Naruto, most of which included using him as a punching bag. The other was on his seventh birthday when a group of eight genin and six chūnin had spotted him and snapped. Apparently, the vast majority of them had lost their families to the Kyūbi attack, so venting their anger on its prison seemed justified. That was the time that an ANBU squad had to save him. Ever since those instances, in addition to a secret ritual that Naruto never told anyone about except for the Third Hokage, Naruto had simply stopped celebrating the date of his birth.

He had two reasons for getting up early today though. First, he knew he had to make breakfast for Hinata, so it would not do him any good to avoid cooking due to his own misery. The other reason was that Naruto was having a conversation with the fox in his seal. Apparently, the fight with Kabuto had made the fox believe that being able to talk to its prison could somehow improve its chances of survival.

"_**Kit, we need to talk," **_the fox began as Naruto started making breakfast.

'_What do you want this time, Kyūbi-teme? Come to gloat over your achievements from thirteen years ago today?' _Naruto asked. Personally, he was in no mood to entertain the sadistic humor of the fox.

"_**You are an insignificant little runt! As if I would gloat over the pointless destruction of your puny little village. No, I simply wish to ask when you are planning to tell that vixen of yours about us."**_

'_First off, she is not my vixen, or whatever the hell you are calling her; she is just a good friend. Second, why does it matter to you? Last time I checked, giant demon foxes don't care about the personal lives of things they feel are beneath them. So, why should I be telling her about you matter to you?'_

"_**Listen kit: for better or worse, your life and mine are tied together. That means that if you die, then I die with you. That being said, if I am going to spend the rest of my days trapped inside this cage, I might as well make sure that my container stays somewhat content. Besides, I do not want a brooding, depressed, and suicidal child as a container. I refuse to listen to you wallow in your own self-pity, whether you wish to acknowledge that side of you or not," **_Kyūbi replied. Truthfully, the fox didn't care all that much about the personal problems of its prison, but if sharing its existence meant that there would be one more person willing to keep Naruto alive, then it was not about to argue about delving into Naruto's personal life.

Naruto was quiet for a moment before replying. _'I can't do that to her. If she finds out, she will be like everyone else and leave. Outside of keeping her here while she got used to her Kekkei Genkai, she has no reason to stay here. It would be better for her if she never found out.'_

Kyūbi retorted. _**"You know she will find out sooner or later, kit. One way or another, she will figure things out. I have a feeling that the shadow user friend of yours already suspects something, and the male you fought before you fought the container of the Ichibi no Shukaku attacked already saw my chakra flowing through you. If they haven't figured it out yet, they will. In any event, would it not sound better coming from you rather than from a villager?"**_

Naruto knew that Kyūbi had a point. Sooner or later, everyone was going to find out about his status as a jinchūriki. If it would not be by figuring things out for themselves, than it would be a group like the Akatsuki to expose his secret. It terrified him to think about how people would react, but he knew that he could not keep his secret forever. He was simply too exposed during the Chūnin Exams and the use of the Demon Fox's chakra had been seen by everyone.

'_Fine, I will tell her. Just so you know, if she hates me afterwards, I will blame you.'_

"_**That's fair enough, I suppose. It is not as if you haven't blamed me for everything else in your pathetic life. Now, you might want to pay attention to what you are doing, because I think I hear your vixen entering the kitchen." **_Kyūbi cut off his connection before Naruto could yell at him for claiming Hinata as Naruto's vixen.

When Hinata walked into the kitchen, she saw Naruto with a dazed look, like he had been in deep thought or in a trance. She didn't know why, but she had a sense of foreboding when she saw Naruto like that, almost as if he was hiding something from her. Not that she could claim that she needed to know; despite how close they had gotten in a week's time, there were still aspects of Naruto's life that she didn't pry into because she knew that everyone had a right to keep their own secrets. She knew she had not told Naruto much about her life inside of the Hyūga compound, mostly because it was difficult for her to talk about some of the goings on inside her old home. But, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was really bothering Naruto, so she decided to ask him about it over breakfast.

"N-naruto-kun, is everything all right? You've been r-really quiet today…" Hinata asked.

Naruto gave her a grin that didn't quite reach his ears. "What do you mean, Hinata? I'm fine, really!"

Hinata shook her head. "I can tell y-you are lying, Naruto-kun. Won't you t-t-tell me what is bothering you?"

Naruto's grin dropped to a look of someone older and more tired. "…I just have some stuff to do today, that's all. I just didn't want to worry you." It wasn't the complete truth, but he didn't exactly want to start the day with a confession about his tenant.

"O-oh. W-well, is there any way I can help you today?"

Naruto shrugged. "If you don't have anything else to do today, I guess it would be nice to have some company. Usually, I just spend this day alone. I just figured you would want to be with some other people today, mourning your loved ones…"

"I-I don't know anyone t-that died today, Naruto-kun. If you want company, I would b-be honored to go with you…" Hinata trailed off.

Naruto seemed to consider things for a moment before giving an affirmative nod. Truthfully, he was going to ask her anyway, seeing as how he didn't want to leave her alone anyway and, if he was going to expose his secret to her, he might as well do it while he was busy with his annual ritual. So, after cleaning up his mess and making sure to lock up his house, Naruto and Hinata left for the day.

* * *

The first stop for Naruto and Hinata that day was the Yamanaka flower shop. This surprised Hinata at first. As far as she knew, Naruto was an orphan, so why would he need to buy flowers? As they walked in, they were greeted by Inoichi Yamanaka, who was running the shop today in the stead of his daughter, who was out with her teammates enjoying a quiet afternoon off. Inoichi was the head of the Yamanaka clan and owned the flower shop. Contrary to popular opinion, not everyone in the village hated Naruto, and Inoichi was one of the exceptions. He had performed a mind transfer when Naruto was at a young age to check Naruto's mental status, and he found out right away that Naruto and the Kyūbi no Yōko were two separate entities.

Since then, Inoichi had been mostly indifferent to Naruto, but he did respect the fact that Naruto was saddled with the burden. Inoichi couldn't imagine what it would have been like for anyone else to be bearing his burden. Every time he would think that Naruto was nothing more than a trouble maker or someone that was not worth his time, Inoichi would think about what it would be like if his own daughter, Ino, or one of his friend's children like Shikamaru or Chōji were used instead. It humbled the blond clan head to know that his child had been spared, even at the expense of someone else's child.

Inoichi greeted the two genin with a smile on his face. "Welcome to the Yamanaka flower shop! What can I do for you today, Naruto?"

Naruto had a solemn look on his face, which didn't go unnoticed by either of the two occupants of the store. "Inoichi-san, do you happen to have any leftover white lilies left? There is someone that I need to pay my respects to today."

Inoichi lowered his smile into a look of understanding. "Of course, wait here and I will get some from the greenhouse out back."

Hinata looked at Naruto with a questioning look while he was staring off into space. As far as she knew, Naruto didn't have any family members that he was aware of. She had overheard conversations that Naruto had with other people when it came to his family. From what she could gather, Naruto didn't know who his parents were or of any existing relatives. Could he be going to visit the Memorial Stone to pay his respects to the Third Hokage? She knew that Naruto and the Third Hokage were close, so it was plausible. But, why would Naruto only visit today of all days? The more Hinata thought about it, the more Hinata wondered about just what they were doing today. As soon as Inoichi came back with a bouquet of white lilies, Naruto paid for them and Hinata and he left for a quick lunch at Ichiraku Ramen before heading for their final destination.

* * *

Hinata was slightly surprised when, rather than head for the Memorial Stone like she originally thought, Naruto and she made their way towards the cemetery. Hinata was confused as to why they were headed there, but decided to keep silent until Naruto was more comfortable with telling her why they were there. They made their way to the back of the cemetery, passing the square epitaphs and markers of many deceased shinobi, many who died either due to the past wars that Konoha had been a part of or due to the Kyūbi attack. They finally stopped at one of the grave sites, with Naruto placing the lilies on the grave before staring at the stone, seemingly holding a silent conversation with whoever had passed on. Hinata glanced at the name on the stone and fought back a gasp at what she saw.

**Kushina Uzumaki**

**Born July 10, XXXX – Died October 10, XXXX**

**Loving Mother, Talented Kunoichi, and Best Friend**

**May the "Red Hot-Blooded Habañero" Live On in the Memories of Those That Knew Her**

Hinata turned to see Naruto, who had looked even more depressed than when she saw him at the Third Hokage's funeral. She was about to ask him who this person was, but Naruto began talking before she could ask, and what she said shocked her.

"In case you were wondering, Hinata…this is my mother's grave. Apparently, she died the night of the attack of the Kyūbi no Yōko. I didn't know about this place until my eighth birthday. Jiji took me to her grave because I had told him that I wished I had someone to mourn. You know, before I found this place, I thought my parents abandoned me, but then he showed me this grave, and in a weird sense, I guess it gives me some form of closure. He told me that she died when the Kyūbi launched an attack that hit the part of the hospital, which apparently was the side that she was in when she gave birth to me. Well, at least I know that she didn't abandon me."

Hinata was shocked by not only the revelation of the identity of the person in the grave, but also of Naruto's birth date. She knew that he never celebrated his birthday, but she didn't know that it was because it fell on a day of mourning. She had a feeling that it must have been hard for Naruto, not being able to be with anyone on what is supposed to be a happy day for any child, even if it was on a tragic day like today. She couldn't even begin to imagine what that might have been like; at least back in her old home, there were a few people that at least wished her a happy birthday every year. As she was absorbing what Naruto had told her, she could finally see some tears starting to fall down his tanned whiskered cheeks.

Naruto began again with a stutter in his voice as he tried to hold back the feelings of guilt and fear that he held in his voice. "It sounds stupid, b-but I can't h-h-help but feel that I am r-responsible for her death…"

"W-why do you b-b-blame yourself, Naruto-kun?" Hinata was genuinely confused. She didn't understand how someone who was only a day old could be held responsible for a death that was caused by the Kyūbi attack.

Naruto turned to her with an absolutely pathetic look on his face and a twinge of fear in his eyes. "Hinata, what I am about to tell you is considered an S-class secret in the village, and only myself and the Hokage are allowed to reveal it, so you can't tell anyone that doesn't already know. If it's OK could you wait to ask any more questions until I am done?"

With Hinata's nod, he continued. "What we have been told about the Kyūbi's defeat is a lie. The Yondaime Hokage couldn't kill something as powerful as the Kyūbi, so he had to find another way to defeat the fox." Naruto at this point pointed to a seal that was on his stomach, which he revealed after focusing his chakra on the seal. "When I was born, the Yondaime took me from my mother, confronted the fox, and sealed him within me. That is the reason most of the village hates me. I feel that, if I was not alive, then justice would finally be served, and my mother could rest in peace. Not to mention, most of the village populace would probably be able to have closure for their loved one's deaths instead of continually mourning, knowing that the very beast that killed their loved ones lives on inside of me. I can understand if you want to go live with Kurenai-sensei now, if you want. I can help you move out tonight, seeing as how you probably don't want to live under the same roof as the prison of the damn fox."

Hinata went from shock after learning about the Kyūbi being sealed within Naruto, to anger at the Fourth Hokage for condemning Naruto to the life he had, to empathetic for Naruto and fear that she might be kicked out because Naruto would think she hated him. She had only been an outcast for a little while, but she had no idea what kind of a burden Naruto had to deal with. The very idea of being forced to carry the very monster that haunted the nightmares of many in Konoha was overwhelming. Things that didn't make any sense to her before – the hate-filled glares of the villagers, the secondary chakra that she saw Naruto use against Neji, the lack of celebration for Naruto's birthday – all of it made so much sense now. It explained so much about how people had treated him, and yet she still was frustrated at the pure ignorance of the village. How could Naruto be blamed for what the fox did? How could he have the blamed place on him for something beyond his control?

She brought herself out of her musings and simply gripped Naruto into a loving embrace. She spoke with as much determination as she could manage and for once without her stutter.

"Naruto-kun, I cannot even begin to imagine what you have gone through, but none of this is your fault. You didn't choose this burden; you didn't choose to hold the beast that attacked our village. If anything, you are the reason we are all still alive, and the fact that you haven't died yet because of all of this shows that you are an even stronger person than I first thought and that makes me admire you more. Plus, between you and me, I would be willing to bet on our nindo that your mother would be proud of you and what you have accomplished, and she would not want you to blame yourself for her death. The fox was the one that killed your mother, not you Naruto-kun. As for being scared, just because you put something in a box, doesn't mean that the box becomes whatever you put into it."

That was the final straw. Naruto simply could not hold back the torrent of tears that he had been desperately holding back. All of his fears about how Hinata would react, about how she would take knowing about his burden, and of his life melted away. All he could do was cry into his precious person's shoulder and continue to sob while asking why he was chosen for something like this and why no one else could see him without seeing the fox. Hinata didn't have any answers, but she was willing to listen to his frustrations. She was reminded of her mother's advice to tell the one you love about your feelings, but decided against it for now. It didn't seem appropriate to try and tell him now. She would wait for a better time, and do things on her own terms.

Naruto continued to cry for a while until he simply didn't have any more tears to cry. He sniffled to try and gain some form of composure. "Thank You, Hinata. I know that I must look pretty weak to you now, but I feel better sharing all of this with someone."

"Y-your welcome, Naruto-kun. You know that I am always willing to be here for you. If anything, I should thank you for being willing to share your burden with me," she finished with a small but sad smile. "I-I-if you want, I d-don't think Kurenai-sensei would mind allowing us to join her for dinner, if you want."

Naruto simply nodded, not quite trusting his voice right now. He had finally found a friend that had been able to accept him for who he was and was even willing to keep his secrets. He had only dreamed of the possibility of a friendship like that, and he finally found someone that could help with the pain and guilt that he had felt all these years. With that in mind, Naruto led Hinata out of the graveyard and towards Kurenai's house. Neither teen noticed a certain Jōnin landing where the two were just standing.

* * *

Kakashi had witnessed the interaction between Naruto and Hinata and could not help but smile. He found it uplifting that Hinata was willing to accept Naruto for his burden. Kakashi was worried about what might have happened if Hinata had not taken the revealing of Naruto's secrets very well. He was happy that Naruto had found a true friend in Hinata. Turning to the grave, he gave out a soft sigh.

'_Kushina-san, I truly wish Minato-sensei had more planning concerning your son, and I truly wish I had been a bigger part of his life. I truly do hope that you are proud of him and that you continue to watch him, from wherever you are. I promise now that I will try to be a better teacher to him than I have been. I hope you will find peace now that Naruto has found someone to treasure.' _With that, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving behind a red-dyed lily across her grave.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Here is yet another installment of **_**Guardian's Wings.**_** I am truly sorry for the long update, but between catching up on the manga – anyone else find the reunion with Kushina a bit odd? – finals week, getting back from college, and various other obstacles including writer's block and giant plot bunnies, I have been fairly busy. Also, keep in mind that I don't speak Japanese, since I do not speak the language and I am doing my best to make things flow smoothly. If something seemed out of place, it is because I am a white guy trying to include some Japanese into his writing.**

**I know that people have been giving me grief on being easy on Sakura and Sasuke, but that is because I have plans for them. Let's just say that the adage of "what goes around comes around harder" will apply here. Let's just say that Sasuke and Sakura will have some serious changes from canon. I know I will also catch grief on the mob aspect, but I wanted to make a happy medium; this is not a case where Naruto was beaten daily, but he has enough experience with large crowds to be able to be empathetic to Hinata. These were two isolated incidents, so do not flame me on having this as an element.**

**One of my anonymous reviewers told me that he or she didn't find Sasuke's reaction very believable, citing who he ends up teaming up with later on in the series. To that, I want to point out that this is before he leaves the village and that, just because you travel with someone doesn't mean that you can't think they are a freak. Another reviewer suggested that I make this into a Naru/Hina/Hanabi pairing. I am not into incest, so that is out, although I am considering ideas for fics involving multiple pairings.**

**One of my biggest problems as of late has been the recent reveal of canon Kushina. The things that we have learned about her have made my interpretations of her character fairly off. Granted, I won't be rewriting her in my other fic **_**For the Sake of One, **_**but it will be a bit of a challenge now to find ways of explaining how she is now after seeing what happened to her now. I will try to make things a little closer here, but I make no promises.**

**As for Naruto knowing about his mom here, I figured I would try something most people haven't before. More often than not, Naruto usually finds out about his parents from Jiriaya, Kakashi, or Tsunade telling him about them. I can understand doing this for his dad, but we don't have any evidence that Kushina was told about in the same way. As far as I can tell, Kushina was technically not married to Minato – hence why she is listed as his lover, not his wife – so it could be plausible that Naruto already knew about his mother being dead and somehow was able to find her grave. In a future chapter of this fic, I plan on offering up my own explanation for how she died, which is my prediction on how she died in canon. The fallowing explanation has spoilers, so bare with me: **

**After Kushina, who at the time was the current container of the Kyūbi no Yōko, gave birth to Naruto, Madara Uchiha, who was suspected of using the Kyūbi anyway, confronted her and entered the seal much like how Sasuke does to Naruto when they meet. She is then brainwashed by Madara into opening the seal, which released the fox. In her dying breaths, Minato came in and took Naruto while Kushina offered the last of her chakra to put into the seal to help Naruto later.**

**As for Hinata's quick acceptance, frankly she doesn't strike me as the type of person to think that Naruto is a demon. I just can't picture her seeing Naruto like that, unless it was a situation like how I see in some fics where he turns into a half demon. That is just my opinion. As for the fox, the way I see things, anything that would make its container happy and thereby improve its chances of surviving would be beneficial to the fox, so if the fox thought that Naruto could prolong his life by having a circle of friends to confide in, he would benefit indirectly, so he would help.**

**Finally, I would like to present my ideas for future fics and see who would be interested in reading what. The first two are ones I am already in the process of writing the first chapter for, so I will post those when I am ready. Most of these will be Naru/Hina unless stated otherwise.**

_**Prayer of the Jinchūriki: Naruto is neglected, but not abused, by his caretakers at the orphanage. See what happens when a prayer to Kami revives two of the strongest shinobi the world had ever seen. A resurrected Kushina and Minato family fic. Possible pairings: Naru/Hina/Karui or Naru/Hina/Ayame.**_

_**Unconventional Relationships: My take on the Harem genre with Hiruzen and Jiraiya creating what I will call the Emergency Revival Act. Naru/Hina/Ten/FemHaku/Karin.**_

_**Konoha's Defenders of the Night: A Gargoyles/Naruto crossover. Demona sends the Gargoyle clan as well as Angela (Goliath's Daughter) as well as**_ _**Elisa Maza to another realm populated by Ninjas. See how the lives of the citizens of Konoha will deal with the likes of the Manhattan clan.**_

_**Student against Student: Rin and Kakashi were at odds after the death of their sensei at the hands of the Kyūbi sealing. See what happens when Rin decides to honor Minato's wishes and raises Naruto. Will include an evil Kakashi.**_

_**The Gauntlets of Samehada: A challenge from firedamio, with Samehada turning into a pair of gauntlets. Naru/Hina/Ino/Isaribi/Undecided on last one.**_

_**The Shy Prison: Aengus challenge, either Naru/Hina with confidant Hinata or Naru/Tema.**_

**That is just a few of my ideas. At any rate, I will get to them in time. In the meantime, please check out my fics: **_**For the Sake of One, **_**my other fic based off of the plot by thymisticles, **_**I Swear, **_**my very first fic and a one-shot, and my latest one-shot **_**An Unexpected Savior, **_**a tragedy centered on Hinata with an unexpected twist. Also, check out my challenge on my profile:**

**Challenge by Notgonnasay09: Naruto of the Talismans (A very slight Naruto/Jackie Chan Adventures Crossover)**

**Summary: At an early age, Naruto is kidnapped by Orochimaru for experimentation. Orochimaru had recently gotten a hold of twelve ancient relics that used to belong to a dragon demon named Shendu: The Twelve Talismans. He had destroyed Shendu when he destroyed his shield, which either rendered Shendu as a spirit or destroyed him altogether. Through a process of your choice, Orochimaru implanted the powers of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig Talismans into Naruto's body. Afterwords, he is rescued by Konoha and brought back to the village, where it is discovered that Naruto has the powers of Animation, Super Strength, Balance, Super Speed, Combustion, Invisibility, Healing (AKA Renewal), Astral Projection, Shape-shifting, Levitation, Immortality, and Heat Vision. This is Naruto's adventure as Naruto of the Talismans.**

**Rules for Challenge:**

**1. Naruto can either be given a small harem (4-5 at most) or can be given one girl. If he remains monogamous, I would like to see him paired with either TenTen or Hinata, but I will not insist as long as it is not Sakura. If he has a harem, you can use Sakura, but try to avoid using all the women his age. (i.e. don't make it Naru/Saku/Hina/Ino/Ten/Tema) Limit yourself to two his age, i.e. Naru/Hina/Ten/two other women.**

**2. Sasuke will have to be a bit of a villain for this, since Naruto will be a heck of a lot more powerful than he is initially in canon. Whether he stays that way or not is up to you.**

**3. Teams can be arranged however you want them to be.**

**4. For Naruto's abilities, do not make him God-like. The Talisman's abilities are not active 24/7 for this. For instance, simply because he has the power of Immortality does not mean that he will live forever; he must activate that ability. Just like in JCA, one must activate the talisman before one receives its powers. In the same sense, Naruto must choose to activate his abilities.**

**5. Use the Fox how you wish for this, as long as you don't use it for the harem if you plan it. I have nothing against that plot device, but it gets overused for stuff like this.**

**6. As an interesting twist, if you wish and you have Shendu as a specter, you can have him possess Madara.**

**7. No Yaoi or Yuri. I am already being lenient on the harem a bit, and no offense to anyone else out there, but I don't like reading it. I have nothing against people that read it, I am just not comfortable reading Yaoi or Yuri to a great degree.**

**8. Personality wise, I would like to see a split of sorts; he is still a happy-go-lucky kid, but he was traumatized from his time with Orochimaru, so you can use that to your advantage. However, this is more of a suggestion than an actual rule.**

**9. Do what you want with any character that is "presumed dead," like Kushina Uzumaki or Rin, although I would only ask that you not make his mom out to be some sort of Wicked Witch that wants to kill him.**

**10. You can incorporate any other mystic aspect of Jackie Chan Adventures into this, as long as you do not bring up any human characters from the series up unless it is for a cameo. For instance, Shadow Khan are OK; Uncle is not unless he is a cameo.**

**11. How the talismans manifest in Naruto is up to you; they can be tattoos, a part of the Kyubi Seal, or something completely different.**

**12. Aside from that, HAVE FUN! (Oh, and if you take the challenge, could you please PM me?)**

**Until Next time, Ja ne!**

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_**Definitions:**_

_**Oyakodon: A one-bowl dish, consisting of a **_**donburi**_** (big bowl) full of hot steamed rice with various savory toppings, in this case with chicken and egg.**_

_**Ichibi no Shukaku: One-Tailed Shukaku**_

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Please Read and Review.


	6. Chapter 6: Ramen for the Soul

Guardian's Wings

Chapter 6: Ramen for the Oblivious' Soul

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I would not have to worry about paying for tuition if I did.**_

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Two weeks had passed since Naruto had confessed to Hinata about his status as the container of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Ever since the revelation, the two became even closer friends. Naruto was becoming more comfortable with Hinata living in his rather small apartment, and Hinata was becoming more confident around Naruto. They had begun to share more and more of their past experiences with each other; Naruto would tell Hinata of his more elaborate pranks and some of his run-ins with various shinobi from the village and Hinata would tell of some of her experiences with being a member of the Hyūga clan. Naruto thought some of her clan's beliefs were a bit off kilter, but so did Hinata, so it was all right.

Hinata's training was also progressing nicely. Her mastery of wind chakra was now at a level that she could perform C-ranked wind techniques with little problem and could perform B-ranked techniques if pushed hard enough. Because of this, Hinata had begun to learn how to use her lightning chakra so that she could use it in conjunction with her Wind chakra. Mastery of her lightning chakra required not only more force to be applied than other chakra manipulations, but to have enough focus to perform the techniques without shocking the user. This was easier said than done, as Hinata had been shocking herself more often than not in the beginning. Now, she still occasionally slipped, but due to her having better chakra control than most of her peers, she was getting the hand of lightning chakra and could successfully perform C-ranked lightning techniques without major issues.

Currently, Tsunade was inspecting Hinata during another check-up. There wasn't really anything physically wrong with her; mostly, Tsunade wanted to keep tabs on Hinata's bloodline. Since Hinata was the only person that had the Guardian's Wings, Tsunade felt that it would be for the best to have her be the one to check up on the former Hyūga. She gave the young woman a clean bill of health and went to talk with Naruto – Hinata had fallen asleep after training to control her Lightning chakra after asking for assistance from Kakashi, as he was one of the few ninja in the village with an affinity to Lightning.

Seeing her favorite blond patiently waiting for her to tell him about Hinata, Tsunade couldn't help but give Naruto a slightly concerned look. Naruto had been involved with this whole ordeal from the very beginning, and frankly she could not have been more proud at how he handled himself. That being said, Naruto was having his share of problems. Now that Hinata was better able to handle herself, Naruto had begun to return to semi-active duty. His teammates still refused to even entertain the idea of apologizing to Hinata, which only further frustrated him, and Kakashi had been reluctant to allow his team to do anything that would take them out of the village. His excuse: their teamwork was way too erratic.

It wasn't only his work that suffered though; she could not remember the last time that Naruto had been with any of his friends outside of a few supervised training sessions or without Hinata by his side. Tsunade knew that Naruto was just looking out for his friend, but he needed to bond with some of his male collogues. At the very least, it would give him a few hours to do what he wanted, not what he felt he had to do. So, Tsunade had gone behind his back and told Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba to meet Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen for a lunch, just for the guys. Now, it was just a matter of getting him out of the house.

Sitting across from Naruto, who was currently eating an instant bowl of ramen, Tsunade decided to confront him. "Well, gaki, she is perfectly fine. She doesn't seem to have any lasting issues from working with her Lightning chakra, and she will just need a little sleep for the rest of the day."

"That's good to know, Baa-chan. For a second there, I thought she might have done too much too soon."

"I wouldn't worry too much, Naruto. Hinata-san is a big girl; she can take care of herself."

"I know that, but still…" Naruto trailed off. He was confident Hinata could take care of herself, but he still couldn't help but worry.

Tsunade sighed. "Naruto, I know you are worried about leaving Hinata alone, but she is more than capable of defending herself. Her elemental training is progressing nicely, she is a practitioner of the basics of Jūken, and she can escape from anyone by simply flying away if need be. Her former clan has not shown any visible signs of retaliation and I doubt they will try anything in broad daylight."

"But, what if someone catches her off guard, or tries to hurt her while I'm gone? What if she gets hurt while I'm gone? I can't just leave her here by herself! What if-"

"Naruto!" Tsunade's voice finally drew Naruto out of his line of questioning. When he showed that he was going to let her talk, she continued. "Naruto, she can take care of herself. She may be precious to you, but she is not the only one I am worried about. You have barely had any time to yourself since this whole mess started, and I know from experience how being isolated from the rest of your social circle is not good for you in the long run. You need to be able to spend time with people other than Hinata."

"But, what can I do, Baa-chan? Who knows who would take advantage of me being outside the apartment without her being with me! I can't just leave her alone, I refuse!"

"Why not just use your Shadow Clones then? They could do the same thing…"

"They can?" This simple question shocked Tsunade. Surely Naruto wasn't dense enough not to realize the full benefits of his clones, right? Then again, she reminded herself, this _was_ Naruto. With the way he threw clones around during fights, he probably never took the time to actually comprehend what his clones could do. Not to mention, his training would have gone so much quicker had either one of his sensei had actually pointed it out to him.

"You mean to tell me that you never realized what your clones could do, Naruto?" Naruto shook his head in the negative. "OK, how to put this simply for you to understand…Your clones give you their memories when they dispel, so whatever they know, you learn. For example, if you were to make a few clones and leave them here, they could keep track of Hinata-san for you, and if anything happens to her, they could dispel and let you know. I'm amazed you haven't figured that out."

"Well, I guess that would explain why it always feels like I'm watching a fight from so many different angles. I guess I just ignored it after a while."

"You baka. Well, in any case, just for today, make a few clones and go spend some time around the village. I already told some of your friends to meet you at Ichiraku Ramen for a meal later this afternoon, so just go enjoy yourself."

"I guess that will be alright. Okay Baa-chan, I'll go out and hang around town today," Naruto agreed reluctantly. He still didn't like the idea, but it would be nice to see some of his other friends for something other than training. Who knows, maybe Hinata would be alright for one day without him. He created a dozen clones and ordered them to keep Hinata safe today while he spent some time around time around the village. Neither he nor Tsunade ever saw the Main House Hyūga walking in the opposite direction just beyond the line of normal human sight.

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Naruto wandered around the village for a few hours, occasionally saying hello to a few of the villagers, shinobi and kunoichi that he recognized, like Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane who for once were not on guard duty, and Konohamaru, who Naruto had not seen in quite some time. Mostly, Naruto just walked around aimlessly. Without his connection to his team, Naruto began to be reminded of just how much his life had changed since he became a ninja. It was at times like these that he could remember walking around the village constantly being ignored by everyone. Now, that was slowly changing; more and more, there would be a few people who would look at him like a human being instead of ignoring him or thinking of him as the Kyūbi. He still had a long way to go from being accepted by most people, but he had gained some true friends, went on some amazing missions, fought against impossible odds, experienced tragedies, and had begun to truly see what life had to offer. The sense of progress in his life left Naruto feeling nostalgic.

Naruto was brought out of his musings when he saw Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba outside of the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. Shikamaru looked like he had just crawled out of bed, which knowing him was very possible, Chōji looked as hungry as usual, and Kiba was trying to keep Akamaru from running behind the counter. Naruto had known the three Genin since their days at the Academy, and were the three closest people Naruto could consider to be his best guy friends. That would have gone to Sasuke, but since they were not on the best of terms right now that was not an option.

"Hey, guys!" Naruto exclaimed in his usual loud and boisterous voice. Clearly, some things just changed slower than others.

The trio turned around to see the orange-wearing blond running to the stand. They each greeted him in their usual fashion: Kiba made a jab about the dobe finally showing up, much to the blonde's irritation, Shikamaru simply waved his hand lazily, as if the mere act of a greeting was putting him to sleep, and Chōji shook hands. After the meet-and-greet, everyone sat down and began to order their meals. Kiba ordered a medium pork ramen and a piece of beef for Akamaru, Shikamaru ordered a small vegetable ramen, Chōji ordered beef, and Naruto ordered the Ichiraku special: essentially, a miso ramen that had a little of everything in it. The conversations were mostly kept small; the group would mostly talk about missions, teammates, and life in general. Eventually, Shikamaru started noticing that Naruto seemed distracted.

"Hey, Naruto, what's up?"

Naruto looked up from his third bowl of ramen with an expression that was trying to play dumb, but Shikamaru was not buying that look for an instant.

"Don't give me that; you have barely eaten any ramen today, which is odd even for you. You look like a man worried about something. Care to explain?"

Naruto put down his chopsticks and sighed. "Well, I'm worried about Hinata-chan. I know she has been fine for a while now. Heck, if she wanted to, she probably could move out of my apartment and into Kurenai-sensei's place. But, I keep on having this feeling that something bad is gonna happen. I don't know; I'm just worried. I just get scared thinking about what could happen to her…"

Naruto rambled a little before noticing the looks he was getting from Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chōji. It was like they were expecting him to say all of this, but he couldn't figure out why.

"What?"

All three just looked at each other and grinned. "You're in love."

Naruto just about had ramen broth spilling out of his nose, nearly choking him with that statement. "What? That's crazy! You guys are crazy!"

"Are we? Face it dude, you've got it bad!" Kiba retorted.

"No, I don't!"

"Is that right? Why don't we test that little theory, huh? Let's see, do you think she is cute?" Kiba asked.

"Well, yeah, but -"

"Do you care about her?" Chōji asked.

"Sure, but -"

"Would you do anything to make sure she was safe? Would you be angry if someone hurt her? Would you cry if she left you? Do you have troubles thinking of anything else but her? Would you do all of that cliché crap that you see done in the movies just to make her happy?" Shikamaru stated knowingly.

Naruto hung his head in defeat. "Yeah."

"Then you're in love. You can't deny it, man," Kiba responded, laughing at Naruto's cluelessness.

Naruto thought about that. To be honest, he didn't quite know that he was falling for Hinata. He thought he just thought about her like a good friend, perhaps even his best friend. Having grown up by himself, he didn't quite know what a love between a man and woman was supposed to look like, basically just having to see the occasional couple holding hands and occasionally kissing. Plus, Sasuke's little fan club didn't exactly provide any good examples of what love was supposed to look like either, what with those girls always showering praises on Sasuke. How was he supposed to know that blushing and having a hard time talking with the object of your affections was a sign of…?

Naruto's head hit the counter with a thud. He was truly an idiot! Suddenly, the way that Hinata sometimes had acted around him made a hell of a lot more sense. She blushed, stuttered, and fainted because she was shy and liked him! How could he not see the parallels? Sakura acted the same way sometimes around Sasuke, so it shouldn't have been that difficult. Man, did he feel stupid.

"Had an epiphany, ramen-for-brains?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shut-up, Shikamaru. Not everyone had the privilege of having people teach them about this stuff," Naruto said.

"Yeah, but it was pretty obvious, Naruto. Most people could tell just looking at her how she felt."

"Thanks for pointing that out, Chōji. Man, I feel stupid now. Well, I guess when I get back, I can -"

Whatever Naruto was going to say, it was stopped when he got a shocked and worried expression on his face before bolting out of the stand. Chōji, Kiba, and Shikamaru shared a look before paying for their meal and running after Naruto with Akamaru in tow. The Nara was the first to catch up with Naruto.

"Hey, what the hell was that about, Naruto? You look like you just found out that you were allergic to ramen broth."

Naruto didn't even turn around to respond. "The clones that I had watching Hinata-chan started dispelling. Someone is attacking her!"

Rather than questioning how Naruto's clones could do that, the two genin and one chūnin simply began running faster towards Naruto's apartment, hoping to get to Hinata before something happened to her. Naruto on the way only had one thought on his mind.

'_Hold on, Hinata-chan. I just figured out my feeling now; I can't lose you now!'_

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Hanabi was wandering around the Hyūga compound looking for something to do. Ever since her sister had been banished from the clan, Hanabi had not had much to do. She didn't have any real friends her own age to play with, and her training had been completed for the day. She was on her way to her father's office, but stopped when she heard her father talking to two of the Hyūga clan elders, Yui and Miki.

"Hiashi-sama, this has gone on far enough. That child has been among the living for too long. Her existence is a liability!"

"I know, Miki-san. I have been waiting for the right opportunity to do so, but that damn Hokage has had the building she is staying in under surveillance."

"Well, that won't be an issue now. One of the Branch members walked by the complex and saw that the only thing protecting that wretch Hinata are a few clones of that blond brat. We can sweep in while the security is lax," Yui stated.

Hiashi appeared to think before nodding in concurrence. "Very well. I have grown tired of this farce. The sooner she is eliminated, the sooner her stain on humanity is cleansed. In the worst case scenario, we lose one more member of the clan for the sake of a mission."

Hanabi had to prevent a gasp in surprise. She knew her father was not Hinata's biggest fan, but to actually plot to kill her? However, it was what was said next that had Hanabi nearly crying in fright.

"What of your other daughter, Hanabi? She was born from the same wretch that bore your abomination of a first-born. She also could have the essence of that cursed bloodline," Yui stated.

Hanabi was on the verge of tears. She didn't know that she inherited anything else from her late mother. Hanabi had always been told that she was better than her sister, but she had not been told that it was possible for her to have another kekkei genkai. She was praying that her father would not seriously consider the possibility of killing her too. After all, she was his daughter, right?

Hiashi didn't want to admit it, but Yui had a point. While he loved his daughter, the risk was simply too great to chance, no matter how much he wanted to admit it. "…Very well. As much as it pains me, her death will ensure the security of this clan. Worry not; come tomorrow morning, we will have tied up all of our loose ends. Our clan will no longer be tarnished with half-breed trash…"

If Hiashi had anything else to say, Hanabi had not bothered to hear it. She was frightened now; her own father wanted her dead. She was confused, as she didn't notice anything that she did to indicate that she had any other bloodlines. She didn't know what to do, so she went to the only person she knew who could give her any advice now: her half-brother, Neji.

She saw Neji in his room and ran to embrace him, crying into his uniform. Neji was caught off by her sudden entrance, and went to ask her what was going on.

"Neji-nii-san, it's ho-horrible! I-I-I just heard Tou-san say that he is g-going to kill me and Hinata-nee-chan. He said it w-was be-because we have some other bloodline other than the Byakugan. I'm scared…"

Neji was in shock. Just how far gone was his uncle, if he was going to eliminate Hanabi and Hinata, his own flesh and blood? And for what, because one had a new kekkei genkai and the other had the potential for it? Neji knew then and there that he had to get out of the clan. As he was a ninja, he could ask the Hokage for clan emancipation papers for himself. He hoped that Tsunade-sama might be able to help her. Now, he just had to get Hanabi and himself out before his uncle came to kill her.

"Hanabi-sama, I need you to calm down and listen to me." After she had calmed down, he began to talk again. "I won't let Hiashi-sama harm you. It is my duty to make sure to protect the heir of the Main Branch, even if it is from internal forces. Here's what we will do: I will go and pack my things – my teammate showed me how to use sealing techniques to store my things. Once I am done in here, I will get into your room, we will pack your things, and then we will make a run for the Hokage Tower. Once in there, we can see if Tsunade-sama will be able to help the two of us out. I am sure she won't let him hurt you, Hanabi-sama. Now, go quickly and gather what you need. I will be there shortly."

Hanabi nodded, giving her half-brother another hug before leaving to gather her things. Neji was packed and ready to go in ten minutes, using several scrolls and a pack to store all of his things. After that, he sealed Hanabi's things into separate scrolls until her room was bare. Just as the two Hyūga children were ready to leave, there came a knock on Hanabi's room, followed by the opening of the door.

"Hanabi, I must speak with you at once," Hiashi stated as he walked in with Yui and Miki on his flanks. He glared when he saw that Hanabi's room was bare and Neji had a backpack on his back. "What is the meaning of this?"

Neji knew that he was in trouble. All it would take would be one hand-sign and his plan would be ruined. In an act of desperation and ingenuity, he pulled out several smoke and flash bombs, threw them, and grabbed Hanabi. He took off out the open window in the room and dashed outside the compound.

Once the smoke cleared and the flash waned, Hiashi was furious; his own nephew had made off with is youngest daughter and was now running for the Hokage Tower. He glanced towards the two elders.

"Yui-sama, Miki-sama, sound the alarm! Neji has just kidnapped Hanabi and is now en route to the Hokage. If he makes it, our plans will be all for naught. Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi must not survive the night!"

The elders left to gather some of their loyal followers, hoping not to enrage Hiashi further. Hiashi turned towards the open window. He was not pleased.

'_I have worked too hard for this plan to fall apart now. I will not be denied my dream now by the likes of them. One way or another, this will end. This I swear…'_

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**Author's Notes: Well, here's another chapter of "Guardian's Wings." I know it has been a while guys, but many things have come up since last April, and unfortunately they did nothing for my desire to write or my writer's block. But now, I have a legitimate update.**

**Let me start by saying thanks to everyone who has reviewed and read my stories. I thank you all, for I know that patience can wear thin when something takes a long time to upload. For your patience, I thank you, and will include an Omake at the end of this chapter as gratitude.**

**Can't think of much to say about this chapter that would otherwise spoil what happens next. I will say that, while the romance may seem a little soon, I figure that spending months with someone getting to know them better probably allow someone to fall in love with someone else. Call me a hopeless romantic or something, I guess. Also, as far as Naruto not immediately recognizing Hinata's feelings, my best educated guess would be that, unlike the cliché that Naruto doesn't know what love is, that he actually has had several examples of love; the problem is that figuring out what specific kinds of love are, particularly what a romantic relationship looks like, are foreign and he hasn't had that many examples of what such a relationship looks like.**

**I will also note that I am considering one of two directions to take with my story "Prayer of the Jinch****ū****riki." To be honest, I am in a rut, and I have two ideas of how to best get back on track. The first option is to take on a Beta Reader for the story, not only to keep motivated in my writing, but to bounce ideas off of. The second, and the idea I am sort of leaning towards at the moment, is to make the story a series of vignettes where I go through all eight other containers with an ending chapter involving Gaara. I will post a poll on my profile to get people's input, but that is where I am at currently.**

**Again, I thank you all. Hopefully, this chapter wasn't too bad or disappointing. Can't promise sudden updates, but I will be getting back into a routine, so hopefully I will be able to get more done. I have two new challenges on my profile, one entitled "Death of Sakura," and the other entitled "Miracle Naruto and Villainous Sasuke." if you would like to see them, and I am also contemplating getting a beta reader, just so that I can have someone to bounce ideas off of, but right now I haven't made that decision and I would like some input from my readers as to your opinion on the subject. Until next time, see you all later.**

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**OMAKE: First Flight…**

Naruto was with Hinata and Kurenai at Gai's dojo. Today was going to be the first time that Hinata was going to try and see if she could fly with her wings. Up until now, Hinata had tried to learn just to store and reveal her wings, which she could now do with some proficiency.

"Now, I know this will be a challenge for you, Hinata, since none of us know how to fly, but thankfully there is enough space here that you should be able to get off the ground and practice. All you have to do is start flapping, I would assume. Just give it a try."

"Um, s-sensei, what if I fall?" Hinata asked. She was quite nervous about trying this for the first time, especially in front of her crush. The last thing she wanted to do was to look like a fool in front of Naruto.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Hinata-chan! I will catch you, dattebayo!" Naruto responded.

"Um, o-okay. I will t-try…" Hinata took a deep breath, closed her eyes, revealed her wings, and spread them out. She started flapping her wings, which felt like she was waving her arms, and before she knew it she had left the ground and was air-born.

"Yeah, Hinata-Chan! You're flying! You're flying!" Naruto exclaimed. Hinata had opened her eyes, and true enough she was in the air. In her excitement, Hinata tried to make a loop-the-loop in excitement. Unfortunately, her body was not quite prepared for the forces generated by such a maneuver, nor was she completely back to full strength yet, and she began to plummet to the ground.

Naruto, forgetting momentarily that he could create solid clones, ran to catch Hinata before she could hit the ground. Kurenai tried to warn him, but before she could do anything, it was too late. There was a dust cloud that appeared where Hinata crashed, and when the dust cleared, Hinata was splayed out on the ground, with Naruto's face under her belly.

Needless to say, Hinata stuck with learning to keep herself afloat for the time being until she was back to normal strength, and Naruto learned that catching someone who is falling with your face is rather painful.

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Please Read and Review.


	7. UPDATE: I'm not deadyet

Important Update: I'm not dead…yet….

Hey everyone:

So, as the title suggests, I'm not dead yet. I know it has been a while since I have updated or uploaded anything to , and there is a reason for that; a few reasons, in fact.

First, my computer died completely on me back in November. It was for all intents and purposes bricked, meaning I couldn't even turn the thing on. In addition, I did not have the means of replacing my computer until last month, meaning I haven't had the means to access most of my files.

My other major reason for not updating in so long has been that I have been working hard through my last full year of college. From September onwards, my butt has been handed to me on a silver platter, and I have not had the desire or the time to focus on my stories. Even right now, I have a full load involving a grant writing course and other courses to fill out my major. I even have an internship and online classes I am setting up this summer just so I can graduate this year! As a result, my free time has been rather limited.

There are of course other more personal reasons for my absence – I would say more, but even with the anonymity of I would not feel comfortable discussing it all – but I think most of my readers could get the gist of what I am saying.

The important thing is, I will be returning to writing eventually, but for right now finishing my college career is going to take precedence. I might be able to start updating again after about June or July, but I make no promises until then. I am still trying to decide what to do with the stories I have, and changes could be coming soon to at least one of them. Until I can set aside some time to plan things out, I will still be silent for the most part on my end. I am not holding my stories for ransom for views or abandoning anything at the moment – I know how frustrating that can be – I am just prioritizing my life on more immediate concerns.

All I ask for is some more patience as I try to balance this busy time of my life. I will hopefully have new chapters for all three of my stories by the time I get back to writing. Enjoy writing and reading, guys.

Notgonnasay09


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